Destiny Magics
by Dragonstars
Summary: A strange new mutant visits the institute, bringing dire warnings of danger. But the display of strength she showed the first time the X-men meet her leaves them reluctant to trust her. But when events come to pass, and a certain blue mutant is in mortal danger, they have no choice but to turn to the only one who can help. t to be safe. 1st fanfic.
1. Fear of the Unkown

X-Men: Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N Okay, I'm sorry to start this off with an author's note that will probably be pretty long, but I need to say some things.**

**First of all, this is the first fan fiction I've written, and I've only just got up the courage to post it. Most things I think of that would be considered fan fiction stay in my head; I like to write, but am nervous of what people would think. Yes, I realize I probably sound like a sissy. But anyway, reviewing would be nice, just post any criticism you have in a somewhat gentle way for now, please. Until I get more confidence, if I ever do. **

**Okay, secondly, I have watched x-men Evo. seasons 1, 2, and 3, but not season 4, the last one. According to my sister (blame her if I'm wrong) season 4 was never put on DVD, so I've never seen it. Irritating… it's the to be continued that's never continued. I do know the basic facts on how they defeated apocalypse, and I read somewhere that Jean and Cyclops became teachers at the institute. They won't be in most of my story though. They're off doing something else until the last chapter or two. What are they doing…? I don't know. That's not important.**

**Okay, now I'll mention that updates may be slow; I don't like typing, I don't have an awesome memory, and I just joined this fan fiction writing, so I'm still trying to figure out how this whole thing works.**

**I've been reading fan fiction for a little bit, especially X-Men: Evo. ones, and I've taken some ideas from here and there. If you see a scene or 2 that seems like a similar idea to what you've written, thanks for the idea, and… I hope you're not angry. I'm not trying to copy, I swear. I just don't know much about X-Men characters other than what I've watched in X-Men: Evo. and X-Men: Animated. I may need ideas from other sources, just something small.**

**Now, I have some Questions. First, I'm labeling this a romance, and there will be some later, but I know this should probably fall under another genre as well. Problem is, I'm not very good at determining what types of genres things should be. Kind of like music; I wouldn't know the different types if they walked up and shook hands. Therefore, some way into the story, could you tell me what genre you think, so I can add it in? That would be great. Also, I'm bad at figuring out acronyms… I think I know some. Correct me if I get these wrong, please: AU is alternate universe, OC is other character, and OOC is out of character. Did I miss any? And what's a 'Lemon'?**

**this fanfic is T for safety in later chapters. the full summery wouldn't fit in the box with what I wanted to say, so you'll find all of it just before the chapter starts.**

**Now, finally, I'll say that this fan fic. happens after the defeat of apocalypse, and that during the course of the story I may randomly alternate between using a character's real name and their codename. Just ignore that, that's just the way I am. Also, there is a character in here that I made up, so… OC, if I'm right. Alright, I'll get on with the story… and I'll try not to make an author's note at the start this big again.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evo.**

Summary: a strange new mutant visits the institute, bringing dire warnings of danger. But the display of strength she showed the first time the x-men meet her leaves them reluctant to trust her. But when events come to pass, and a certain blue mutant is in mortal danger, they have no choice but to turn to the only one who can help.

Fear of the unknown

The sky was completely dark. Thick, black, heavy clouds covered the moon, a night of frightening darkness. No eyes, human strength or otherwise, could penetrate the unrelenting darkness. The clouds were the kind you would expect near a tornado, or at least a severe storm. But no wind blew; no thunder could be heard; no lightning could be seen. If a person was to look up, they would see nothing, like nothing was there.

Yet there was something there, or rather someone. A creature, black as the abyss of sky but for her eyes, flew over the city she was now passing. The darkness in the sky was not unbroken, not to her. She could see threads of colours, webs of the light that filtered through, invisible to any other eye. They were there. But even those were dim, and this made the creature narrow her purple eyes in worry. She could read these strands of light; with them so dim, it meant nothing good. They shimmered and flickered around her, telling her, warning her of what was yet to be. This darkness, it was only the start of what was possible to come. The creature took on a look of despair. Was there no hope? Was all lost?

Suddenly the lights gleamed. The clouds moved a fraction and a thin ray of light shone from the moon, to strike and reflect off the creature's hard skin. The creature smiled. There was still some time. She knew that the darkness was a portent, a storm about to break. A storm of war. Only this war, the dim light told her, would be fought within the minds of very important people. The light ray from the moon was gone now, but it had told the creature all she had needed to hear. There was a chance, a slight chance, that they could win that war. If she could read their light patterns, perhaps she could help ensure that there would be a future. The creature shook her head. She could try, but she had seen it before, on the lights. When a repressed, shadowed past reared back to strike, the only one who could beat it was the person who had it. They did not often win. The creature pumped her wings harder. This one had to win. If he did not, then when his past struck it would not only destroy him, but shatter the resolve of all those close to him, and the minds of some. The creature flew faster, ignoring the burn in her wings. He had to win; they all had to keep fighting for their cause. If they did not, the light would vanish; there would be no hope for the future. The creature pushed her wings to their maximum speed; she had a long way to go, and far too little time. She pursued the only option left: go to the Xavier institute, and warn the X-Men of the dark times coming…

Kurt Wagner perched near the window sill in the rec. room of the institute, staring out the window. He was alone; his inducer was switched off, showing his blue fur, pointed ears, and 3- fingered hands. His 2-toed feet easily gripped the edge of the table that he was perched on, and his spaded tail swished back and forth. The sky outside was perfectly clear, with a full moon shining and all the stars bright and clear. The light from the moon made everything as bright as day to Kurt, but even while he was thinking to himself that it was a beautiful night, he felt uneasy. He had no idea why, and that just made him more so.

"Hey Kurt, what's up?" Kurt's head swiveled around to see a blue-eyed brunette in jeans and a pink shirt walk through the wall.

"Hey, Keety. Nozhing much." He said, his German accent apparent in every syllable "Vhy?"

"Oh, like, nothing important." Kitty said. "I just wanted to, like, make sure I wouldn't interrupt anything if I put on a movie."

"Nope. Go ahead, Keety." said Kurt, turning his attention back out the window. Kitty got out her movie and turned the TV on. Setting things up, she was at the perfect angle to see Kurt's expression. She stopped.

"Kurt, is everything okay? You seem, like, distracted." He looked up, startled.

"Huh? Vhat?"

"You're just staring out the window, Kurt. That's not like you. You could be, like, doing just about anything and you're just staring out the window. Are you okay?"

"Yah, yah, I'm fine, Keety." He flashed a brief smile at her, then his eyes drifted again to the window. Everything was fine, so why did he feel a sense of danger that made his fur crawl? Kitty looked at him hard. He didn't look fine; he looked as though he was worried about something. Maybe her friend could use some distracting, she thought. She started the movie and sat on the couch.

"Well, then, maybe you'd like, wanna watch this movie with me?" Kurt looked at her for a moment, then looked back out the window. Everything was peaceful. Maybe he was just paranoid. Or crazy. Or both. He looked back at Kitty.

"Sure, vhy not?" he leaped from the table to the couch and refused to let himself look back out the window as the movie played.

**A/N There! My very first chapter of my very first fan fiction! Like it? Keep writing? Or not? I do have more planned… but I won't write it if people don't like it.**


	2. Incoming Storm

X-Men: Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N I meant to put this up yester day, but my plans got messed around. [Sighs.] That seems to happen a lot recently.**

**This chapter is shorter and a bit more pointless then the last one, but that's how it goes sometimes. Chapter three and four will pick up and be more interesting.**

**Also, I want to thank **_**Theatreismyhome **_**for giving me my first ever review. I'll do my best not to disappoint you or anyone else who reads this fan fiction.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evo.**

2. Incoming Storm

The black creature strained her wings against the howling wind and spat curses that were lost in a roar of thunder. She had never encountered a wind like this. It seemed to declare an all-out war on her, thrusting her this way and that. For every meter she came forward, the wind pushed her three back. The creature spat more curses and braced herself against the invisible enemy with all her might, battling with her will and thrashing her tail to keep herself upright. It did no good whatsoever. The creature growled and angled herself toward the ground. If the wind fought her in the sky, she would have to travel a different way. She couldn't lose time like this. The lightning in the sky distorted the coloured streaks of light, making them hard to read, but they still spoke to her. Still warned her of a dark future that was coming ever closer.

Kurt finished his homework, threw down his pencil, and 'ported to the kitchen. Going into the cupboards and grabbing some cookies, he saw Rogue sitting at the table. Or at least he assumed it was Rogue- her head was down on the table, but no one else in the institute dressed Goth.

"Vhat's wrong? Headache again?" he inquired. It was definitely Rogue- she lifted her head and there were the tell-tale white bangs in her red hair.

"The moment Professor X gets back from his trip to Muir Ahsland Ah'm gonna ask him if he can help get ahll these other personalities out of mah head agahn." She groaned. "everyone in here is talking at once, and Ah swear Ah hear Jamies voice at least 10 tahmes. The Jamie inside mah head must be able tah make copies of himself just like the real Jamie can."

"Ouch." Kurt said sympathetically. "Vell, don't vorry. Professor X should be back by zhis time tomorrow. Just vait a bit longer, sister." Kurt 'ported back to his room and Rogue put her head back down on the table.

Someone knocked on the door of his room.

"Kurt!" called Kitty's voice. "Kurt, aren't you done yet? Don't forget you said you'd help me with the homework we got!"

"I haven't forgotten, Keety, I just haven't finished in here yet!" called Kurt.

"But you said you were just going to use your brush first, and that was like half an hour ago!" Kitty yelled.

"yah?" called Kurt. "Vell, vhen you have fur all over you, it can take avhile to brush!" Silence. Then…

"Oh, yeah… I guess it would." Outside the door, Kitty turned red and went back to her room. It had never occurred to her before that Kurt would have to brush his fur… but then, it made sense.

Kurt glared at the brush. It wasn't that he minded being brushed. In fact, he liked it. But it was a real pain… Kurt sighed and transferred the brush from his hand to his tail so he could do his back.

Wolverine looked out the window. "Storm's comin'" he grunted. He looked at the resident Weather Witch, who happened to be in the room. "Didn't you send a massive one on its way just last week?" Storm shrugged.

"There can be more than one rainstorm every few days, Logan. Perhaps this is just nature's way of telling me that there needs to be a storm here. I suppose it would be best if I let this one be."

**A/N like I said, shorter (by a lot) and a bit random. If you have any comments, let me know in a review! I'll try to update again soon.**


	3. Hurt Pride and Hurt Pryde

X-Men: Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay, for those of you who have been waiting, here's chapter three. **

**Oh, and by the way, if any of you have been wondering why I keep putting the title at the top of the page when you know what it is (presumably, since you are reading it), it's because my school has pretty much trained me to do that. Just ignore it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evo.**

3. Hurt Pride and Hurt Pryde

The black creature stalked along the drainage pipe. The whole idea irked her, for more reasons than one. One of them was that she, with her wings and tail made for flight, and all her unique, fascinating gifts were forced to slink along wall-ledges underground, knee deep in filthy water. What was really vexing her, though, the reason constantly at the front of her mind, was this snail's pace. Of all the times! After the first storm had passed, she had had a few days to get closer, had even crossed the border. Now a second storm was screaming above ground, forcing her under it once again. A dark future was looming, closer than ever. It could already be casting its shadow upon the Xavier institute. It was possible that the events had already begun, and here she was crawling underground, on her four feet instead of her wings. The creature bared her fangs in a snarl and kept going, holding to a prayer that the light would have informed her if the bleak events had started.

Kurt, Rogue, and several of the younger mutants were sprawled around the living room. Ray, Sam, Tabitha, and Bobby were all wrestling for control of the TV remote while Amara, Rahne, and Jamie watched in amusement. Rogue, on the couch, and Kurt, next to her, had something else on their minds.

"Ah hate it when Kitty's gone out with Lance. He's in the Brotherhood, which means he's ahr enemy, and he's a complete jerk. Ah don't know what she sees in that rock head. On top ah' that, the moment he get mad, he stops thinking about the consequences of his actions. He could end up hurtin' Kitty real bad one day."

"oh, don't say zhat." Said Kurt. "You may vell tempt it to happen. But I must admit, I do agree vith you." A sudden crackling sounded, and Kurt and Rogue looked to see Jamie, Rahne, and Amara all laughing; Bobby, Tabitha, and Sam lying on the floor with signs of having received an electric shock; and Ray holding the now useless TV remote.

"Not agahn, Ray. Ya gotta control that electricity of yo's." Shamefaced, Ray got up and left to dispose of the remote, and Tabitha went to find a new one.

Suddenly, someone ran through the living room at the fastest speed anyone could go if they weren't Quicksilver. Kurt and Rogue only realized it was Kitty when she phased through a wall. Kurt and Rogue both jumped up when she disappeared. Something was wrong- she was headed straight for the room she shared with Rogue. Kurt and Rogue looked at each other. Rogue nodded as if to say, 'you first,' and Kurt nodded back. He slowly counted to 10 to give her time to get there, then 'ported to the hallway outside her room. He knocked on the door.

"Keety, you in zhere? Is everyzhing okay?"

"Go away! I'm fine so leave me alone!" Kitty's voice sounded thick with held-back tears.

"You sure? You don't sound okay."

"Yes, fine! Please just go!" Came the reply, sounding even more distressed than before. Kurt quietly opened the door to see her lying face down on her bed.

"No, I don't zhink I vill. You sound much too unhappy for me to just go vith a clear conscience." He sat on the side of her bed. "Vhat is vrong, Keety?" Kitty brought her arms up around her head so he couldn't see any part of her face and shook her head.

"Please go."

"Keety, I'm not leaving you like zhis. Come on, you know you can tell me anyzhing." Kitty began sobbing then, quietly, but he heard it nonetheless. Kurt reached out a hand and began rubbing her back between her shoulders in comfort. For a few minutes, it just stayed like that. Then Kitty finally sat up and looked at Kurt, and a look of mingled horror and concern crossed the latter's face. Just under Kitty's right eye was a black bruise about the size of a fist, and a slightly smaller one on the left side of her jaw, while a small cut above her left eye was smeared with dry blood. "Oh, nien, Katzchen." Kurt breathed. "Tell me he didn't." Kitty threw herself at Kurt, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"I…I said something and he got really mad." She sobbed, her body shaking. "I… I don't even remember… what I said now. He… he was horrified after… said he didn't mean to cause those pieces of bricks to fall but… I can't… I can't go see him anymore. It… it really hurts. I… I can't face him now, I just can't… I can't…"

"Alright, it's okay, Keety. It's okay. You don't have to go near him again, and don't vorry, Rogue and I vill make sure to thrash him for zhis." Kitty stopped talking, but kept crying, burying her face in Kurt's neck fur. She would never admit it out loud, but she loved how soft Kurt's fur was, and she was especially grateful for it tonight.

Rogue opened the door quietly to see her best friend crying in the arms of her brother. "Kitty?" she asked uncertainly. Kitty didn't reply, but Kurt looked up.

"Ve need to thrash Avalanche vhen ve next see him." He growled. "He hurt her." Rogue's eyes took on a dark look and she closed the door much less quietly than she had opened it. Kurt had no idea where she went, but all his attention was focused on trying to make Kitty feel better, and he didn't really care. He only hoped that she would let him know when she decided to beat up Lance, so he could help. He wanted to make that jerk pay for this.

**A/N There. Chapter three. You know, this looks much bigger in Word before you post it. Oh well. I'll try to put up chapter four soon AND… SPOILER ALERT! Lance will be totally humiliated. I would say he gets beat up… but he doesn't actually get physically hurt, so I guess it should just be said that he gets humiliated. Lance haters should love it… I do. So, I'll try to post soon. In the meantime, please review for me!**


	4. Magnetism and Earthquakes

X-Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay, chapter four. Sorry it's late, I meant to put this up earlier, but I'm pretty sure my teachers got together and said, "Okay, we're going to give out as much homework as we possibly can." Sorry, but I have to make homework a priority. If my parents caught me doing this when it was piling up, they would **_**not **_**be happy. But I'm doing my best to update, I promise.**

**Just going to say, I mentioned Lance after the last chapter, said he wouldn't get hurt. I looked at what I had written, and realized I lied. He does get punched a few times. (laugh) My bad (for the lie. I make up stories in my head but don't often lie).**

**Anyone out there trying to guess what my black creature is? Well, whether you have or not, you'll know at the end of this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evo.**

4. Magnetism and Earthquakes

The black creature lit in an empty alleyway. As important as using all her speed was, as close as she was finally getting, she was exhausted, and had to stop for a moment. Something beside her rattled. She turned her head to see several small coins, dimes and nickels mostly, moving on their own. They lifted an inch or two off the ground and began to chase each other in a circle. Everything metal in the alley began to rattle and vibrate. A shadow loomed from behind her. The creature turned. A man floated in mid-air. It was the helmet and cape that drew the eyes of most people, once they got over the fact that he was floating. "You're Magneto." The creature spoke, her voice rough and rasping. She coughed to one side to clear her throat- her voice was not something she often had to use- and continued, her voice slightly clearer. "You want me to join your Acolytes." Magneto stared at her, fascinated. When she had coughed, something dark and thick had issued out her mouth. It had looked more like a small plume of very condensed, pitch-black smoke or fog more than anything, but it had seemed to flicker and glow like fire. Magneto looked over the creature's body, enthralled with the hard skin she had in the form of scales.

"Indeed. But tell me, how did you know that?" he asked.

"I know many things." Said the creature, the roughness slowly but surely fading from her voice. "I trust my instincts and my senses, what my senses tell me. Even I do not know how I know all the things I know, but I do know that what I sense is right, usually is." The rattling coins next to the creature's ear were beginning to annoy her. She glared at them, and they stopped dead, falling to the ground. Magneto's eyes took on a look of hunger.

"What is it, exactly, that you can do?" the creature looked at him.

"I can do many things."

"Ah, yes… and tell me, you don't live around other people, do you? Correct me if I'm wrong, but do you live a life of complete solitude?

"That is indeed correct." Said the creature. "I keep away from people because they are either frightened of me, try to attack me, or liked me for what I am rather than who. Too many people screamed, hurt me, or thought what a wonderful trained animal I would make without considering the fact that I was a person. So I left society entirely to live where I wouldn't need to worry."

"That's no life." Rumbled Magneto. "Come with me and help us build a world where you won't need to worry about that."

"No." all the rasp was now gone from the creature's voice.

"I beg your pardon?" Magneto's voice took on a dangerous tone.

"Don't get threatening with me." Replied the creature. "I know that your methods include waging a war on the non- mutants. I would prefer a non- violent method, of co-existence, like Xavier has. And don't you try to take me by force; you saw what I did to those coins. I can do that to anything you throw at me, and to you as well if I need to. I would suggest you keep your nose out of my business and your paws out of my life! Good day to you." The creature spread her wings once more and flew away. She was very close now.

School that day had been… interesting. Kurt had walked Kitty to all her classes, and stayed next to her at lunch. Whenever she had seen Lance coming, she had gripped his arm and ducked behind him. Kurt could sense Lance's frustration at being unable to talk to her, as well as anger towards him for staying so close to her and not letting him near. Kurt wasn't worried in the least. He didn't care about Lance, only the girl beside him as they walked through the woods, now that school was out. Kitty had wanted to get away from the noise at the institute, so he had taken her into the small woods beside it, deep enough that they couldn't hear the shouting anymore. It was peaceful and beautiful. If only it could have lasted. But it wasn't long before the calm was, literally, shaken apart.

"Come on, Pretty Kitty." Sneered Avalanche as minor tremors rumbled from under his feet. "Look, I swear, I'm sorry about last night. Just come over here so I can calm down enough to stop the tremors, and we'll talk." Kitty ducked behind Kurt, who looked at Lance.

"Vhy don't you stop zhe shaking now? And how did you even find us?"

"I wasn't talking to you, furry freak. But whatever; I followed you, and I'm too worried about how you are, Kitty."

"You liar!" kitty choked out from her position behind Kurt. "I've seen your expression at school, and I see it now. You're, like, really, really angry."

"Quit hiding from me, and I won't be." Snarled Lance, the tremors getting larger.

"Just leave me alone Lance. I don't want to be near you anymore. Just stay away from me."

The tremors grew even larger, the ground around them started cracking, and Lance snarled, "No!" the ground underneath Kurt and Kitty heaved, and the two were separated. Kurt began scrambling to get to Kitty so he could 'port her away from here, but it was easier thought than done. Suddenly a shower of stones and dirt exploded from the ground. A rock struck Kurt in the side of his head, and everything went black.

Wolverine, Storm, and Rogue (having felt the tremors from back at the institute and ordering the others to stay back) arrived on the scene just in time to watch the elf go down.

"Kurt!" screamed Kitty. Kitty stumbled over the shaking ground to where he lay, dropped down beside him and hung on to him, ready to phase him if she had to. The others made to attack Lance, but before they could, something happened that no one could explain until the incident was over. Lance suddenly yelled and fell, tumbling down in the kind of fashion you would expect if the force of a train were put behind a fist that went into his gut. Before he even hit the ground, he went flying in another direction. Then a voice, issued from someone they couldn't see, snapped through the air.

"So you like shaking things around, boy? Well, let's see how you like being shaken!" suddenly Lance was pulled into the air and, from the perspective of the X-men, seemed to be held by his shirt next to a tree branch. He wasn't stuck on the branch, just hung there suspended by something they couldn't see. The four watching members didn't have much time to wonder, though, because suddenly Lance started to get jerked back and forth as though something really was shaking him, and he screamed and flailed his arms and legs the whole time. After a short while, Lance dropped from the tree, and the X-men saw something else, something black, drop down after him. The black creature landed on Avalanche's chest and growled, "Anymore business like this from you, and you will think that this was just and enjoyable play-fight. Understand?" Lance nodded. The creature got off his chest. "Then go, and if you know what's good for you then you will never come here again." Lance got up and ran. The creature turned towards the X-men and slowly approached them. The four conscious members stared, slowly taking in one feature at a time as their minds refused to believe what they were seeing. Black scales. Wings, with thin membranes spread over a frame of bone. Four legs, each ending in a paw with four toes, and three just- visible claws each in the spaces between the toes. It had no horns, spikes or spines anywhere on its body, but there was a small, triangular blade at the tip of its tail. Atop a neck that was fairly long (for it) was a head that was somewhat snakelike, though very rounded. Its eyes, set deep in its head, were the colour of pure amethyst and had no whites- they were just straight purple with a black pupil. Given the evidence in front of them, the X-men had to accept what they were seeing. They made a rough estimate of the length of it from nose to tail-tip. Standing in front of them was a dragon about two feet long.

The dragon stopped in front of them and smiled. Had the dragon been the full-size roaring terror of fairy tales, it would not have been reassuring. The smile showed a lot of sharp teeth, particularly two long, pointed ones that were about in the right spot for canine teeth. With the dragon's size, however, it looked quite cute. And yet, this little thing had picked up Avalanche like he was a rag doll and shaken him like a jug of orange juice.

"Hello." Said the dragon. Something in its voice seemed to say it was female. "You're the X-men, right?"

"yeah…" growled Wolverine. "what do you want?"

"I would like to see Professor Xavier."

"Why?" Wolverine kept a mask of suspicion on his face.

"I need to speak with him." The dragon replied. "I assure you, sir, that I have no harmful intentions. And this is important; I live at the most northern tip of the Yukon Territory in Canada. I wouldn't fly those thousands of miles just to play a prank." wolverine bared his teeth in a snarl, but Storm put a hand on his shoulder.

"Of course. Follow us." She said.

The dragon looked at Storm and said, "Thank you." Logan glared at the dragon a moment more, then picked up the unconscious Kurt and the X-men headed back to the institute, the dragon following behind.

"The injury appears to be minor." Said Beast. "the blow to his head was not too serious. Once he wakes up, his head will feel tender and hurt a little, but it should be just fine in a day or two."

"Oh, that's, like, great to hear." Said Kitty, leaning back against the wall in relief.

"Yeah, though now we owe that creep a double beatin'." Rogue muttered. "Although… aftah what that little dragon did, Ah bet he stained those pants pretty good." Kitty laughed.

"Kurt'll be upset that he missed it."

As if on cue, Kurt groaned and sat up, putting one hand to his head, which now had a bandage on it. "Vhere… Vhat…?" Kitty and Rogue instantly went over to him.

"Hey Kurt. You're, like, not gonna believe this…"

**A/N whew. Longest chapter yet. Well? Did you see that coming? Two-foot kick-ass dragon. What do you think of this chapter? Send some thoughts in a review.**


	5. Dangers and Identities revealed

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N once again this is later than I intended. Sorry. My homework level finally settled down, and then Life decided to belt me from another direction. Don't worry, I won't bore you by getting into it. It would take wayyyyy too long.**

**On an unrelated note that I'm sure none of you care about, I found the square bracket on the keyboard! [ ]. I could never find those before! But again, I doubt you really care, so… I'll get on with it.**

**Oh, hold on, sorry. I should first mention that words ~like this~ are being thought. Okay, sorry. **_**Now **_**n with it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

5. Dangers and Identities Revealed.

The dragon sat outside the office. First, she had been told by the gruff man with a temper to wait in the Entrance Hall while he took the injured blue mutant to the infirmary. He had looked at the others and said that _he _wanted to be the one to take her to Xavier's office. The woman with white hair had rolled her eyes, but no one had commented. Then, after he brought her up, he had said that he wanted to talk to Xavier first. So here she was, waiting for her turn and unable to help the fact that her sharp ears could pick up the whispered conversation from beyond the closed door.

"I'm tellin' ya, Chuck, that thing is downright unnatural. It picked up Avalanche and shook him like a maraca. It would be like watchin' half-pint pick up a mammoth. The hoodlum went runnin' scared from a thing smaller than a Cocker Spaniel."

"Logan." Another voice said. "First of all, she used her strength to help us, so right now there is no reason for me to refuse to see her. Secondly, do you realize that the "thing" in question has extremely developed senses and can hear every word we're saying?"

The dragon shifted uncomfortably. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop. ~it's quite alright~ the voice sounded inside her head. "Logan, let her in."

The dragon heard some growling and footsteps, then the door swung open to admit her. She walked in, and looked around for a moment before heading toward the desk that the man she knew must be Charles Xavier was sitting behind. Scrambling onto the chair across from him, she put her front paws on the desk to raise herself high enough to get a good look at him.

"Well… I don't believe I know your name?" he said, or more rather asked. The dragon shook her head.

"I don't have a name, sir."

"Oh, really? Well… you wanted to speak with me?" the dragon nodded.

"I came to warn you that a great danger is coming."

"What kind of danger?"

"I don't really know, sir. Perhaps… it would be easier to show you what I know rather than explain it?" the dragon lifted a front paw to tap her head. Xavier nodded.

"Alright, if that is the way you would like it done." The dragon nodded, and Professor Xavier probed into her mind to watch her memories.

The dragon crawled of a small she'd dug in the snow and yawned. She studied the beautiful array of light shows and colours in the air around her, then started off towards where they said the Tundra was, intent on edible grasses and field mice for breakfast. Before she'd done more than take two steps and open her wings to begin flying, she stopped. Still on the ground, a pulsing blue light had caught her eye. She settled her wigs and turned to face it. It seemed to suddenly explode in front of her eyes. Other colours joined it, and it began showing pictures. It showed a furry blue mutant yelling in pain in a dark place with trees, then the same mutant in a dark corner, shaking. In the next picture he was clearly still in pain, and he had his hands gripping his arms so tightly that his furry skin was bruised and bleeding around his fingers. Then there was that same mutant lying dead on the forest floor. Then other mutants, all from the Xavier institute, all losing their will to fight… and some losing their minds and falling to pieces. It seemed to all the students that there was no longer a point. The mutant called Magneto then appeared in the light, calling a war on the non-mutants, and the world spiraled into a dark chaos. The light faded, and the dragon knew she had to go. Go to the Xavier institute, to warn them, and help in any way she could before all the light disappeared forever. The dragon took off, and headed south.

Professor Xavier opened his eyes in his office as the dragon did the same. The dragon blinked, then leaned in as close as she could get (being already standing on the chair).

"That is why I came, sir. When they tell the future they are confusing and unclear, but it still felt important. The light patterns have never steered me wrong before. I trust them. so I came here to offer whatever I can do in whatever is coming."

"Yes." Said Xavier. "I believe we will be very glad of your help, once we find out what, exactly, is going to happen. Logan," he continued as the dragon watched him turn to the man who'd brought her there, "I need you to do me a favour. But first, stop scowling. This dragon is not our enemy."

"Alright, Chuck, if you say so." The man called Logan sighed. "what do you need?"

"I need you to keep an eye on Kurt. Don't let him know you're watching him, though. Stay quiet about it, and don't make it obvious. I'll ask Ororo to watch him, too, and perhaps Hank. Let me know if his behavior seems strange or different in any way. I believe he may be in danger in a way that will first cause pain from the inside. You of all people should know what I'm talking about." The man called Logan nodded and left, leaving the dragon alone with the Professor, who looked at her. "I would be grateful for your help in whatever's coming. You can make yourself comfortable here for as long as you wish to stay at the institute."

The dragon blinked and swallowed. "Thank you. That's very kind of you."

The professor smiled. "Don't worry about it. You came all this way to help us; it would be discourteous if we did nothing for you. Consider this home for as long as you wish to be here."

Kurt wished he could have stayed at the institute. His head hurt slightly from the blow he'd gotten from Avalanche the day before. His head hurt a lot from the annoying antics of the girl hanging on his arm.

"Come on, Kurt." pleaded Amanda. "Just take off your inducer and show everyone the real you. It won't be so bad. I'll stay next to you through all of it."

"Vhat part of no don't you understand, Amanda?" Kurt said sharply as they walked out of the lunch line. Spotting his friends, he headed toward their table. "I do not vant to go zhrough vhat vill happen if I do. Vhy keep bozhering me about zhis? Vhy von't you let zhis be?"

"Because," Amanda giggled, "I want everyone to know that the guy I'm dating is different."

"Zhey already know I'm different, zhey already know I'm a mutant!"

"I mean really different. I want them to know you look special, rather than having them think you seem to be a guy no one would look twice at."

Kurt screeched to a halt, despite being right next to the table the other X- kids were sitting at. "vhat? Do you mean zhat you vould never have even noticed me if you hadn't seen zhe vay I really look?" he asked, his voice low so no one would hear.

"What? I- no, I- I really-"

"tell me zhe truz, Amanda! Vould you have even looked at me if you hadn't seen me vith my inducer off?" he still spoke in a low voice.

"I-I- well, maybe not, but that doesn't matter! I have and I-"

"You disgust me. You like me for vhat I am and not for who?"

"Kurt, what's the difference?" Amanda said with a small laugh. Kurt put his lunch tray down on the table.

"All zhe difference, Amanda. It makes all zhe difference." He growled. Amanda made to step closer to him, but Kurt thrust out his hands and pushed her away. "keep avay from me." He snarled. Amanda grabbed at his hands, accidentally catching his image inducer and pulling hard. With a loud snap, the strap of the watch broke and the inducer ended up in Amanda's hands with Kurt's true form visible to all.

For one second there was silence before people realized what happened. Then the screaming started in every direction, and many horrified exclamations and insults could be heard, chief among them being "freak," "monster," and "demon." Kurt looked around franticly, desperately pushing back memories he did not want to relive. He did the only thing he could think of and 'ported, trying to get away.

Rogue quickly contacted the Professor and told him what happened while Kitty marched over to Amanda and snatched Kurt's image inducer.

"Gimme that, bitch!" she snapped. The professor's voice sounded in the heads of the X- kids. ~Stay at school, do not try to look for Kurt. I'll have someone else look for him while I come to the school to clear things up. Kitty,~ he added to only the one named, ~That includes you.~

~But Kurt's out there, and after what just happened he'll be-~

~Kitty! He will be taken care of. Listen, it would not be a good idea for any of the other mutants to leave the school just now, people could think that we went into hiding because we became ashamed. We must not send that message; we must show that we are proud of who we are! If you like, once school is over I can tell you where to find Kurt, and you can go.~

Kitty sighed. ~Yes, Professor.~ Kitty stayed at the school, but knew she would not be able to get her mind off of Kurt now. ~Poor Kurt. This must have been like a nightmare for him. ~ she thought sadly.

**A/N seems like these chapters have been taking longer and longer to type. Well, here's another one! Please review for me, the two I have are getting lonely.**


	6. Heart to Heart with a Dragon

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N you know, I started with the intention of updating every weekend, but it's been more like every other weekend- and this one has been three weeks! Sorry, everyone. I'll get better with updates once the summer break starts.**

**I should tell you that thoughts are now 'like this'. I'm sorry if the change causes confusion for anyone, but I've been trying out different ways to put them (since I didn't really like what I used in the last chapter), and I liked this way much better.**

**If 'this' is inside a quotation, however, it's quoting from what was said earlier.**

**Okay, that's enough of my boring drivel, let's get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

** 6. Heart to Heart with a Dragon**

The dragon crept into Professor Xavier's office just as the phone in it rang.

"That'll be Principal Kelly." the Professor sighed. "Hello, Dragon. One moment." He picked up the phone. "Hello? Yes, Principal Kelly. Yes… yes, I… Now… Now hold on!"

The dragon could hear what the person on the other end was saying, but she didn't like it much and forced herself to tune it out.

"Yes, I know what happened. Never mind how I know! Yes, I realize that! I beg your pardon? Yes, I know what he looks like! We are talking about a boy who has feelings just like everyone else! I expect you to show some respect for that! What? I think I know more about Kurt that you do. I assure you, Principal Kelly, of all my students, Kurt is probably the least dangerous. Yes. Very well, I'll come. Yes, I'll bring my other teachers here. I'll be seeing you. Goodbye."

Xavier hung up the phone and put his head in his hands, sighing. The he straightened. "Is there something I can do for you?" he asked.

"No, sir. I was just wondering, what's happened, exactly? The… the light patterns just told me that the mutant called Kurt is in the forest outside and he's pretty upset."

"Yes, that's probably an understatement. Kurt's hologram watch broke in the lunch room and quite a few students panicked. Wait… did you just say you know where Kurt is?"

The dragon nodded. "Everyone has a particular light pattern. If I know it, and I ask the light, they'll let me know about certain ones. I've been monitoring his, because of the coming danger. If he's inside a mile radius, I can find him."

"Good!" said the professor. "I hate to ask this of you, but… could you go and find him? Principal Kelly wants to talk to all the adults here, and I need someone to stay with Kurt and make sure he doesn't do anything… drastic."

"Drastic as in running away or something? I don't think I'd put it past him. Sure, I can do that." The dragon snapped open her wings and briefly ran her tongue along her left one. "I've wanted to talk to him anyway. He shouldn't be told what kind of danger he's in or where it's coming from, or he might do something really drastic to stop it from happening, but he should be warned that danger is coming."

"How will you tell him about the danger without telling him what it is?" the Professor asked. The dragon looked at him.

"You concentrate on this Principal Kelly person's thick skull. See if you can get through it- from what it sounded like, it'll take some time. Leave this to me. I may not have much practice talking to people, but I am good at making and taking opportunities. I'll figure something out." When Professor Xavier continued to look worried, the dragon added, "It's okay, I'll watch him until the other students find him. You talk to the thick-headed. Leave the furry one to me."

Finally Xavier nodded, and the dragon jumped into the air. Flying through the halls at a good speed, she soon landed in front of the doors of the entrance hall. She walked right underneath the door knobs, leaped up, and clamped her jaws around the left handle. She braced her paws on the doors (two paws on each door), jerked her head back to twist the knob, and pushed off with her right paws. The door opened. The dragon slithered out through the narrow gap she'd made and flew off, homing in on the light pattern of the mutant called Kurt.

Kurt sat in the dark, at the base of a tree. His head was down on his knees, his tail still and on the ground. His ears still rang with the screams and insults. 'Monster!' 'Demon!'

"Hey!" Kurt blinked. That voice hadn't been inside his head. He looked up. Then down. In front of him was a small black creature, a dragon, her head slightly lower than his knees. For a moment he was confused; then he remembered seeing her.

"Hey… aren't you…?" his voice trailed off, his mind still on what had happened at school.

"Yep. Professor Xavier introduced me last night when you and the others started dinner. I didn't stay there long, though, I'm… I'm not really used to people. You probably know what I mean, from experiences before you came here… I'm too different to really fit in."

Kurt flinched, and the screams echoed in his head again. "How do you deal vith it?" he asked desperately. "How did you deal vith zhe vay ozhers acted around you?"

The dragon gave him a sad smile. "I didn't. I ran away. And I still don't know what choice would have been worse. But I hope you're stronger than I was… for your sake. Even now, in those situations, I only know how to run… from my past… from my own appearance. When things got hard, I just left. I didn't try to fit in. Now I can't."

Kurt shivered. Closing his eyes, he could still hear the screaming. 'Freak!' 'Demon!'

"Kurt!" He opened his eyes. Wide, deep purple ones were staring back without blinking.

"Very few people vould have let you fit in if you had tried. Besides zhe ozher mutants, zhe only von who accepted zhe vay I look here vas Amanda, and she… she…" he swallowed hard. "Vell, perhaps zhis vas a sign to indicate zhat I'm not supposed to fit in. maybe I'm supposed to be alone."

"Not so, Eleven." The dragon said to him.

"Not… vait… huh? Eleven? Vhy call me zhat?" Kurt was completely baffled.

"Well, you are German, aren't you? And the others call you Elf sometimes, right? I thought I heard them."

"Yes, but… oh. Oh, I get it. Funny*." He gave the dragon a weak smile. "So… you vere saying?"

The dragon grinned. "Right. I said, 'not so'. You can't see them, so I guess you wouldn't know this, but everyone has a specific light pattern. It's sort of like a fingerprint, but not, because as the person get older it changes to tell their story. In a vague kind of way. Yours, for example, says you were adopted and you adoptive parents loved you very much… but you were raised in a village of people that did not. You have a rough, dark history."

Kurt flinched and looked away, shutting his eyes. It did nothing as images began to rise in his mind, unbidden. They vanished, however, when he felt light pressure on his knee, and he opened his eyes. The dragon had reared on her back paws and stretched up to put a paw there.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean for my comment to hurt… I just wanted an example to help my point across. The part I'm getting to is that the light patterns of each person interact. The colours and the shapes of light around each person… each living thing, really… when people get close, their light reacts in certain ways. And even as a person's light pattern changes, the way it interacts with the light patterns of others do not. I've seen patterns that clash horribly; those people are enemies. I've seen light patterns that do blend but leave little impression. I've seen the pretty light patterns of best friends. I haven't seen you with Amanda, but my guess would be that she is probably in between there."

"I can't believe I'm discussing zhis." Kurt sighed. The dragon laughed. "vhat, exactly, is zhe point you're getting to, if you don't mind mien asking? I mean, my asking?"

"Of course." The dragon smiled. "there's one more interaction that light can make, where it blends with another's so beautifully that it's beyond the word og dazzling."

"Love." Kurt said, his voice monotonous.

"Yes." The dragon nodded. "And no." The dragon shook her head.

Kurt looked at her, confused. "Huh?"

"Allow me to explain it like this. You can fall in and out of love many times in your lifetime, and with many different people. Those patterns are the same as those for strong friendships. The beautiful pattern… the perfect pattern… that would be true love, Kurt. And each person has only one of those. Many people never even find their perfect match. But everyone does have one. And I've seen yours already."

"Vhat? Have you? Who?"

The dragon laughed again. "I can't tell you, Kurt. That would be cheating. And it's not right, that's not the way you find them."

Kurt sighed. "Vell, I hope I know zhem vhen I see zhem."

"You already know her."

"Vhat? But i… vouldn't I know?" Kurt looked at the dragon, a mix of confusion, sadness, and hope in his eyes.

"No, you wouldn't, not right away. Light patterns show from the start who matches who, but the feeling itself takes time, no matter what the fairy tales say. You meet them… become friends… share experiences… learn about each other… and after time you realize you feel more… realize you'd do anything for the other… know everything about them and love me just the same… and feel like everything's become perfect when you find out that they feel the same way. It comes in pieces." Kurt sighed again. "I will give you a hint, though." Kurt blinked at her, suddenly feeling more hopeful. If the hint was easy…

"Try looking closer to home. I'd never seen a perfect light pattern, ever, until I came here. I was shocked seeing not just one here, but a surprising number among the people at the institute. Four, in fact**… and something tells me the pairs aren't all here yet." Kurt let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding in yet another sigh. That told him almost nothing, except that it was another mutant at the institute. Well… actually, maybe that _wasn't _nothing. It just wasn't as easy as he'd hoped for.

"Vhat about you? You found yours?" he asked, curious. The dragon looked at him, blinked, and shook her head.

"Actually, I don't have a light pattern at all, not that I can see. I can think of two reasons. One is that I just can't see my own light pattern. The other, more likely one is that I don't have a match. I'm not even vaguely human shape like you are. How many other humans are shaped like this?" The dragon sighed, unfurling the re-furling her wings and moving her tail around for emphasis. "It's not easy being so different."

Kurt winced. His mind had drifted away from what had happened at school; with that last comment, however, he started remembering it.

"Don't remind me, please. Distract me."

The dragon looked back at him. "You'll have to face it sooner or later."

"I know, but… not right now. Please."

"Alright. What do you want me to do?"

"Talk to me. Tell me about… you. I know nothing about you. Vhat's your name?"

The dragon shook her head. "Don't have one."

"you don't have… a name?"

"No, not one that I remember…"

For a moment it was quit. Then…

"Vhat de you remember? Vhat vas your past like?"

"Are you sure you want to know?" asked the dragon.

"Please… tell me about you past so I can forget mine, at least for now."

"Very well." Said the dragon, and she settled into a more comfortable lying position, putting her right front paw over her left one. "My own past…"

***for those of you who are wondering, it's word play. The other mutants call Kurt Elf sometimes for his pointy ears (as most of you know). Elf is actually a German word, too. Translating from German, Elf is the number eleven.**

**** For people wondering what pairs I had in mind, I was thinking Kurt : Kitty, Wolverine : Storm, Jubilee : Bobby, and Rahne : Jamie… just cuz' I think that last pair would be cute together.**

**A/N There, that chapter took **_**ages**_** to type. Maybe I really should learn to type with both hands instead of just my left…**

**Well, anyway, brace yourself before the next chapter. The dragon's past is **_**NOT**_** pretty.**

**Also, I have turned on the anonymous reviews to try and get more (at some point I was advised to leave it off for awhile… not sure why…) because as of right now, I officially have more people who put this on story alert than I have people who have reviewed. Is it that hard to click the review button? Come on, please!**


	7. A Past of Shadows and a Call of Light

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay, here. Hope you braced yourself ;**). **It took a lot of thinking before I finally got this to seem right to me. I wanted some of the things you find out about the dragon seem surprising. **

**Now, I should tell you that the time of year outside here has no importance to my story whatsoever; it follows its own timeline. I did, however, match the year in my story to the one out here, just to make things easier. So, here we go!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo. **

7. A Past of Shadows and a Call of Light

"March 13, 2003. Funny, I guess, that I can't remember my own name but I can recall my exact date of birth."

"Vait… zhat is vhen you vere born?" Kurt looked at the dragon. "But… zhat vould make you nine."

"Yes." The dragon nodded.

"You're… very mature for a nine year old."

The dragon blinked. What was that supposed to mean? A compliment, or… what? "Thanks… I think." The dragon shifted the position of her tail and continued. "It's strange. So many details I can remember from that time, and my name isn't one of them. We lived in a house between medium and small in size, and in a small town near the Yukon capital. It was normally a quiet neighborhood, though it was a very bad idea to be alone in a dark backstreet. For the first few years with my parents, life seemed just about perfect. You know, I did look normal once." the dragon changed position to a sitting one and lifted her front right paw to her neck. Then she lifted something that Kurt hadn't realized she'd been wearing until then- a small black drawstring pouch on a thin black chain. It had blended perfectly with her scales. The dragon slid it of her neck and held it out to him. "Go on. Open it." Kurt took the pouch and chain, opened it, and up- ended it over one hand. Three things fell out- a gold ring that looked like a wedding ring, a folded photograph, and a small blue gem about the size of a toddler's fingernail. Kurt suddenly felt a weight on his leg and shoulder. The dragon had climbed onto him so she could also see what he held, and stood with her back legs on his leg and her front paws on his shoulder. She pointed with one paw at the blue gem. "That's a sapphire. Once at a store there was this ring I just had to have. Since my birthday was soon, my parents got it for me. After everything that happened, the metal broke and rusted… but I was able to hold on to that sapphire." The dragon then pointed at the ring. "That was Mama's wedding ring. It survived all the experiences it went through, somehow. Mama gave me that right before she… well, we'll get to that." The dragon tapped the photo. "Unfold it." Kurt did so, and smiled at what he saw. A woman with blond hair and brown eyes, standing next to a man with brown hair and blue eyes, held a very young child, about three or so, who had blonde hair and gray-green eyes. All three looked happy; all three were smiling. The dragon tapped the toddler with a paw. "That was me, once. But not anymore. Everything I once had just… shattered. Right on my fourth birthday… right after I blew out the candles." The dragon leaped off Kurt. He carefully put all three items back in the pouch, closed it, and reached out to hang it back around the dragon's neck. She closed her eyes and lowered her head as he did so. When he leaned back, she opened her eyes and lifted her front right paw to rest on the pouch for a moment before setting it back down. "Thank you." The dragon settled back into the lying position she had been in before and put her right front paw again over her left one, the small black pouch once more invisible against her black scales. "My story has only just begiun at the point of my fourth birthday. But I'd guess you already knew that. So here it goes…

"I blew out the candles. My parents started to clap for me, but… I suddenly started feeling strange. It's hard to describe… but my hands started itching and burning, my teeth started aching, and my eyes… they were in agony. It was horrible, like they were splitting open. I… don't really remember much about right then. I just remember opening my eyes… and my dad started yelling. At my Mama, I think… I don't really remember what he said, but he was really angry… horrified too, I think. And eventually he just walked out the door and didn't come back. He never came back. I lived with just Mama for another two months. The first time I looked in a mirror, I was… I don't know. I don't know how I felt. I didn't look the way I do now, not right then. But I had fangs. My eyes had changed- they looked like they do now. And on a human face, it's rather shocking." The dragon blinked her huge, diamond- shaped purple eyes at Kurt and continued. "Looking in the mirror to find that your eyes are suddenly very purple and half the size of the palm of an adults hand is… unnerving. When I looked at my hands, I saw that the back of each one had a scale embedded in it… it had grown there. I was scared. Mama told me not to worry. She said I looked just fine. At the time… I believed her. Things weren't perfect anymore, they weren't even close. But they were okay. For just two more months.

"Two months later Mama and I were walking home… I forget what we'd been doing. The street we were on was dark… there weren't any streetlights on that street… it was late at night and all the houses nearby had their lights turned off. a bunch of older kids… like maybe a gang or something… they came at us. And this is where my memories are kind of fuzzy… like I'm seeing them through cloudy water… but I think… they took Mama's jewelry. I remember that right before they came I'd been playing with her wedding ring… Mama had given it to me because I wanted to see it… and the kids didn't even look at me. One of the kids had something… I didn't see it, but I think it was a knife. They stabbed Mama in the stomach with it… and then they ran. At first I didn't know what happened. I didn't understand right away why Mama fell. I asked her if she wanted me to help her up. She said no, she wouldn't be able to get up. I asked her why not, and Mama just smiled at me. And then… then I held out her ring, and Mama said to me, 'No, you keep it. You keep it safe for me.' I put it in my pouch along with the picture and the sapphire ring that were already there. Right after that is when I saw the puddle of red… I was going to start screaming, I think, but then it started happening again. I felt strange, and my whole body started itching and burning. I don't remember much… only an intense, excruciating from inside my whole body that was like my bones were melting. And I guess they were. When I opened my eyes… I looked like this." The dragon paused, unfurling and refurling her wings for emphasis. She looked at Kurt, who was looking at her with mingled horror and sadness. The dragon looked away and continued. "My Mama saw the way I looked and told me to run. She said other people wouldn't like it and might try to hurt me. She told me that no matter what, she would always love me. Then… she was gone. Just… gone. And I was alone. A four- year old left to fend for herself. Dragon shape or no… I was defenseless. I don't remember much of how I survived. For about the next half year I wandered the streets. Sometimes people saw me, of course… I couldn't always stay hidden. Some people screamed and ran. Some people attacked me. And some people tried to capture me. Sometimes they got me. Some of the people who caught me locked me in a tiny cage and tried to take me to scientists. At least it was child's play to escape when their backs were turned. Some of the people who caught me tried to keep me as a pet. They liked what I was, but they refused to believe I was a person even when I tried to talk to them! out of all the reactions people had… I hate that the most." The dragon stretched out her front paws, unsheathed her claws, dug them into the ground and dragged them back. "I might be small, and defenseless back then, but I am nobody's pet! I'm a person!... even if I don't look like one anymore…" the dragon trailed off. Swallowing hard, she retracted her claws until they were only just visible. The dragon shook her head rapidly, and Kurt saw a teardrop drip onto the ground, where it joined other dark spots. Kurt flinched inwardly, wishing he hadn't asked her to relive this, or that he'd at least noticed when she started crying. He reached out a hand, but the dragon shifted away when it came near. "It was harder to get out of their locked houses," she continued, "But eventually I managed. After those six months or so, I'd had enough. The light patterns, which I had started seeing the moment I started looking like a dragon, were something I had gotten used to; they were distracting at first. I left the town I was born in, trying to leave the memories behind, and flew as far north as I could go without flying over water. When I got there, I stayed there. There was snow a lot of the time that I could dig dens in, and there were tundra areas with edible plants, and I learned to hunt mice. I lived like that for years. I eventually learned how to read the light patterns, which told me so many things. The light patterns bend certain ways around everything." The dragon paused and looked back at Kurt. He looked at her, feeling terrible. For that to have happened to her… The dragon flinched and looked away. "Don't look at me like that."

"Huh? Like Vhat?"

"Like… like you're sorry for me." The dragon got up and turned her back to Kurt before saying, "All of that did happen, and I might not like what happened, but all the pity in the world won't change that fact. And no one else ever cares anyway."

Kurt reached out and put one hand underneath her. "Hey, Wha-? What are you doing? Put me down!" Kurt ignored her protests and pulled her onto his lap. He put his other hand under the dragon's head and forced her to look at him. "You'll find zhat you're wrong zhere." He said quietly. "At zhe institute, ve alvays care about von anozher."

"Well in case you haven't noticed, I'm not one of you guys, I'm just visiting!"

"As long as you are vith us, you are von of us."

The dragon ceased her struggling for a moment and trembled in his hands. Then, her voice thick with an emotion he couldn't identify, she said, "Whatever." She squirmed again, and this time, he let her go.

"So," he said trying to lighten the mood, "Light bends? I zhought it vas supposed to travel in straight lines."

"Theoretically, yes. And in a vacuum, it does. But I assume you know that everything with mass has its own attractive force, it's just weak enough that we don't notice it?"

"Yes… that's high school level science. You're very bright for someone who never got to go to school."

"Light patterns. If I may continue?" Kurt shrugged, and the dragon went on. "Now, this attractive force is more or less the same thing that you call gravity on objects that are large enough to notice it, like the Earth. And gravity, as it has been seen around black holes, bends light. However, the light that smaller amounts of gravity bends is not noticeable. Not to anyone or anything… except me. I see every kind, every colour of light. Different colours and kinds bend differently around different things. I can see that. That is what I read. And after the five years in the Yukon, the light patterns told me I had to come here."

"Had to? Vhy?" Kurt asked her. She looked at him.

"I can't tell you that. Sorry, Eleven. But I will tell you one thing." Kurt waited silently. The dragon got up and paced back and forth in front of him for awhile, thinking. The end of her tail kept twitching. At last she stopped and stood directly in front of him. "Feral Mutants. I assume you know that the term refers to mutants who have some characteristics, traits, and behaviors of animals. I also assume you realize you are one, and I doubt it will surprise you to know that I am one as well." Kurt nodded. He was confused, but he stayed quiet. He figured she would explain why she brought this up. "You're luckier than some of the Feral Mutants out there, Kurt. Sure, you look different, but with that hologram watch of yours, people wouldn't guess you aren't normal, because you can act normal. You can repress and ignore the instinctive actions you get from your animal side. I, for one, can't. Even if there was a way to somehow make me look completely human, I can't act completely human. I walk on all fours- I have no other choice. If I get wet, I shake myself off- I actually can't stop myself from doing that. You can." The dragon, seeing Kurt become even more confused, grinned. Okay, how about a better example? No one notices anything different when you eat something, because there isn't anything different _to_ notice. But me? Talk about strange. The way my jaw and teeth are arranged makes it physically impossible to close my mouth while I chew. Because of that, I have to tip my head back so the food doesn't fall out my mouth. And on top of _that,_ I have to jerk my head back every time I shut my mouth to chew, otherwise I couldn't move the food around in my mouth to grind it. I bet I make a pretty disgusting dinner guest. People would notice that. But you do nothing out of the ordinary. Most of the time, the only positive proof that you're a Feral Mutant at all is the way your tail behaves!" Kurt looked at the appendage in question, which was twitching uncertainly off to his right. He looked back at the dragon, who was still grinning at him. "Your tail, as you know- I'd be shocked if you didn't- moves on its own. If you wanted to hang yourself upside down from a chandelier or something, or pick up something behind you, or hold something, you _can_ make your tail grab what you need it to. If your mind is on it, you _can_ control it… but when you don't pay specific attention to it, your tail does its own things, displaying your emotions to those who speak tail and whatever else it does. But that's the only thing you have to worry about. Looking at the way I behave sometimes… I guess I shouldn't be surprised that no one believed I was human. I seem to be anything but." The dragon shifted her wings again.

"I guess I have been lucky… luckier zhan you, anyvay."

"Have you? I don't know… is it better to live completely alone or better to live with people where only a rare few accept you? I've been thinking about this question for a long time, but I still can't answer it. But I do think it's better that your emotions are stronger than mine. Because I've only run away when I get scared, that's all I can do now. You can face your fear. I think that's much better. You face the worst that can happen while I run like a frightened animal. The best thing Feral Mutants benefit from is a sense of when they're in danger."

The dragon suddenly drew close to Kurt, looking him in the eye. "Trust your instincts, Kurt. They're very good. And know this: you don't have to face any kind of danger alone. I don't believe there is a single person here at the institute who won't help you when you ask. They will stand and fight with you. And I…" the dragon hesitated a moment, then continued. "I will do everything I can. That is, after all, the reason I came." Kurt stared at the dragon, the fur on his spine prickling. How did she know that he felt uneasy when darkness fell? How did she seem to know that he kept feeling a sense of danger that made his fur crawl?

"Vhat is going to happen to me?" He whispered.

"I can't tell you. I don't know. But whatever happens… we're with you." The dragon drew back and cocked her head, listening hard. "Here comes that girl… what was her name? Kitty? I think so. Things might be more difficult for those of us with physical mutations, but don't give up, Kurt. Be stronger than I was… for your sake. Pain will pass. I'll see you later. Bye, Eleven." The dragon took off, and moments later Kitty became visible through the trees.

**A/N wow. That… was… **_**long.**_** So… what did you think? How did I do?**

**Eight pages, this chapter took. No wonder my arm's tired.**

**You know, I got a PM answering one of the questions I asked before my first chapter- the one asking what a lemon was. Now that I know, having that question before the chapter makes me feel embarrassed. But, well… how does that saying go? "He who asks is a fool for five minutes, he who does not ask remains a fool forever". Yes, that sounds right.**

**Anyway, please review! I'm starting to feel like I'm writing to myself here!**


	8. It's never okay

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N whew. My exams are over! I'm posting this chapter in celebration! Here we go!**

**(Hey, a short author's note for once. )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

8. It's Never okay

The dragon winged and wheeled away. "It's up to you now, girl." She whispered. "I distracted him until you came… now you must convince him he's fine the way he is. He will only take it from you. Good luck." The dragon headed back to the institute. 'As for me… I think I'll find a dark corner to hide in for a while.' Talking about her past had helped Kurt, but it had dredged up old memories the dragon had done her best to forget and escape from.

"Kurt! There you are! Are you okay?"

Kurt struggled for an answer that would be neither the complete truth nor a complete lie. "I get zhat a lot." He said at last. Kitty reached his side and put her hand on his shoulder.

"Oh, Kurt, I'm so sorry this happened-"

"Don't be." He said shortly. "Nozhing you can do about it."

"Kurt," Kitty said, squeezing his shoulder, "You don't have to act like you don't care. Anyone would be hurt."

Kurt stood up and slid out of her grip. "I'm fine." He insisted. The he 'ported, Kitty just barely managing to grab his arm in time.

They reappeared in Kurt's room. Kurt slid out of Kitty's grip once more and turned his back on her.

"Kurt." she said. "Kurt, it's okay."

Kurt had no idea why those words set him off, but he snapped and turned back around. "Okay? It's never okay, Keety. Never." Kurt grabbed one of Kitty's hands, lifted it to his left shoulder and sifted her fingers through his fur to the skin underneath. Kitty felt a rough bump, a raised line over his skin. She suddenly felt cold.

"Kurt, is this…?"

Kurt dropped her hand and backed away. "It's a scar, Keety, and it's just von of many. I have looked zhis vay all my life. I have had people chasing me and trying to hurt and kill me ever since I can remember. I've had to run from mobs complete vith torches and pitchforks since I vas zhree. Sometimes I got avay. Sometimes I didn't. zhere vere times people captured me and locked me up all night long so zhat zhey could ridicule and torture me until daybreak. Every time somezhing like zhat happened, my parents vould tell me it vould be okay. I'd believe zhem, start feeling better, and zhen it vould happen again! I zhought zhat vhen I came here, zhings vould be different. I vas accepted here and it vas… vunderbar. I should have known zhat it vould not last."

Kitty felt as though horror had taken place of her blood and was surging through her body. "Kurt." she whispered. "Kurt, it _is _different here. None of us will ever let any of that happen again. Things will get better, I promise."

"No!" Kurt snapped. "Don't make a promise you can't keep! Zhey vould only get better if people stopped being scared of me! And zhat vill never happen, I know it won't! Even you vere scared of me vhen you first met me!" Kurt finished and stalked out onto his balcony. He put his arms on the railing and stared without seeing. He sensed Kitty follow him and stand directly behind him, but he did not turn around.

"Yes." Kitty whispered. "Yes, I was. And there isn't one thing that I've done that I regret more- except maybe go out with Lance. But after time, I saw my mistake- both of them." she added, trying to make him smile. She couldn't see his face, but sensed that she failed. She put her arms around his waist and leaned forward, putting her head on his back. "You are the nicest person I've met, and you're a lot of fun to be around. I realized you're not a monster, just different. They will too. And I like you this way." They stood like that awhile before Kurt gave something that sounded like a German curse.

"Sorry, you should have said somezhing…"

Kitty was confused, until she realized that his tail had wrapped itself around her arm. Kitty laughed- she hadn't even noticed. "It's fine, Kurt." she put one hand over his tail, stopping his attempts to take it off. "It's fine where it is. You don't have to worry about what it does, especially with me. I don't mind." If she was truthful, Kitty loved his tail. In moments like these, looking at Kurt's face wouldn't tell her anything. But his tail said things her wouldn't. She knew it had latched onto her arm as a plea for her to stay there. It had gripped her because Kurt was seeking comfort, even if he wouldn't say it- and she must have been providing some. She was making Kurt feel better, even if it was only a little. "Are you okay?" she asked for the second time.

"I vill be."

**A/N that… was kind of more depressing for a chapter I'm posting in celebration (laughs). Well, that's the way it goes… that was the next one to post. Short one, too.**

**The next one will be happier.**

**Thank you, petpermint, for the first review I've gotten since shortly after posting chapter two. I like knowing that people are reading. For everyone else, I have two simple equations below. I want you to look at them.**

**More reviews = happy author.**

**Happy author = more frequent updates.**

**Do the math. Please review! Dragonstars out!**


	9. It Could Be Okay

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N I'm sorry, I meant to post this a few days ago, but some things came up that I had to do and it got a little… out of hand. I'm sure you know the feeling… anyway, I'm posting it now.**

**Since the last couple chapters have been kind of morbid, I tried to make this one more funny. Hopefully, my sense of humor isn't messed up the way it is sometimes, and the chapter is actually funny rather than just me thinking it is. When you've read it, let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

9. It Could Be Okay

The dragon crouched on a table in the hallway. She could hear the clattering and chattering as the students of the Xavier institute started heading towards the dining room for dinner. She twitched uneasily. Then she picked up familiar voices.

"What? You're not just going to 'port to the table"

"No, Keety, I vant to find somevon first."

The dragon tuned out, then cringed back as an oncoming rush of people flooded the hall and stampeded past her. For a few moments it was quiet. Then:

"Hey, zhere you are!"

The dragon looked up. Kurt and the girl named Kitty were standing there, looking at her. Kurt knelt down so that his head was roughly level with hers (her being on top of a small table in the hall).

"I just vanted to make sure you knew zhat vhen you are ready to join all of us at zhe table, zhere is a spot ready for you."

The dragon blinked. "_At_ the table? With a chair and everything?"

"Of course." It was Kitty who answered. "What else did you expect?"

Kurt winced and the dragon cringed. She looked down and shuffled her paws in embarrassment.

"Back a few years ago when people tried to keep me as a pet, I wasn't allowed at the table. They made me eat from a pet dish on the floor." She mumbled. Kitty's mouth gaped.

"Hey." Said Kurt. "No von vill make you do zhat here. You're von of us here. And I'm pretty sure no von vill mind zhe vay you eat, eizher." Kurt smiled. The dragon slowly nodded. Kurt stood up, took Kitty's arm, and pulled her away.

"Do you think that really happened?" the dragon heard her whisper to Kurt. He looked at Kitty.

"Yes. Zhose of us vith physical mutations," he held up a three- fingered hand, "have a somevhat harder time zhan zhe rest of you." Once he finished the sentence, he 'ported, taking Kitty with him. The dragon shifted, considering.

"Hey! Over here!" the dragon flinched- so much for an unnoticed entrance. She looked to see Kurt waving at her from one side of the table. "Zhere's a spot for you between me and Rahne!" the dragon crept to the chair, trying very hard to ignore the other students (the ones staring at her in particular), and climbed on it. Like Kurt had said, it was between him and a red-headed girl with pigtails and a slightly canine scent that must have been Rahne. Rahne smiled at the dragon, who returned it uncertainly. Then the dragon reared and placed her front paws on the table. There was a bowl there for her. A bowl, not a pet dish. The dragon felt her spirits start to lift.

Everyone had managed to get served. The dragon had to fight to keep herself from wriggling with happiness. She knew what most of the foods were, but hadn't so much as smelled any of them in years. She was also able to eat dinner without hunting it first, which was definitely worth something too. And on top of that, no one seemed to mind the way she had eaten the first few bites she had taken. They didn't seem to mind that the way her jaws and teeth were positioned forced her to provide them with an excellent view of the food in her mouth as she chewed it- they realized she didn't have another choice.

Then there was sudden yelling from the other end of the table. One boy had gotten mad at another boy and frozen his glass of juice when he picked it up. The poor boy now had a glass of fruit-flavoured ice frozen to his hand.

"Bobby!" yelled the man who'd been with the dragon in Xavier's office, whom she'd been told was called both 'Wolverine' and 'Mr. Logan' by the other kids. A girl with blond hair suddenly tossed something onto the offending boy's plate, which blew up. "Tabitha!" the man yelled her name this time. "Both of you! Out! Now!" both the boy called Bobby and the girl called Tabitha left the room, after some stuttered protests met with more of wolverine's yelling. The girl directly across from the dragon, who had long brown hair, rose to her feet and walked over to the brown- haired boy with the frozen glass.

"Here, Jamie." She said, and put her own hand over the glass. For a split second, nothing happened. Then steam hissed out of the glass, and the dragon heard a bubbling sound. The girl took her hand away, the boy put the glass down, and took his own hand off it. He flexed the hand and sighed in relief.

"Thanks, Amara."

"No problem." the girl went back to her seat. The boy went to grab his glass again, but when his hand touched it he recoiled and squealed,

"Ow! Hot!"

The dragon looked at Kurt. "Is it always this mad in here?"

He grinned. "Nah, ve're just getting started!" with that he 'ported to the chandelier and grabbed more food from the middle of the table. And he was right. The dragon had never known so many strange things to happen in one sitting before. Between Kurt's 'porting and the boy whose hand had been frozen (whose name was apparently Jamie) making copies of himself that ran around the table grabbing things, Wolverine spent a lot of time snapping at people to ask for things to be passed. At one point, one boy sneezed, and electricity shot out of his body and hit the bowl of mashed potatoes, which blew up. Everyone too slow to duck had to go get cleaned off, and the boy had to clean up the mess on the table. Not long after that, one of Jamie's copies tripped on a chair leg while he was running and fell, making more copies that tumbled into other chair and people and started a domino effect of knocking everyone over, which ended at Kitty when she phased the falling chair and person through her. The same girl who'd unfrozen Jamie's glass of juice knocked over her own, and in her haste to try and keep it from spilling all its contents she had a brief loss of control over her power and set her green beans on fire. Some minor panic ensued for a few moments, then the darker skinned boy next to her poured _his_ glass of juice over the tiny flames, putting them out.

And those were just the really noticeable things. At some point, the dragon noticed that the girl next to her, Rahne, was drinking her glass of water by sticking her tongue in the cup and lapping it. The dragon knew other people were noticing, but acted like it was completely normal. And here, the dragon realized, it was. Kurt was right- no one was going to mind the way she ate here, however gross it looked. For the first time in years, the dragon felt… normal.

After dinner, the dragon quietly explored some of the halls. Her ears picked up a familiar voice, and she paused to listen.

"Kurt, you said something just before you 'ported us to the dining room. I wanted to ask you about it, but I couldn't in there."

"I it's vhat I zhink it is, zhen zhat vas zhe idea."

"Kurt!"

"Alright, Keety. Vhat?"

"You said it was really hard for mutant with physical mutations. Is that really true for all of them?"

"Vell, seeing as I only know of Zhree, von of vhich is myself, all of vhich are in zhis mansion, I can't really speak for all of zhem. But I vould zhink zhat zhings are very difficult when you don't even look human, more so zhan just having powers. You look normal; people who don't already know you're a mutant wouldn't just know by themselves. But it's obvious zhat I'm a mutant, and it alvays has been."

Kitty was quiet for a moment. Then: "I guess you're right. I've never really thought about it, but… thinking back to when some of us were in the woods with Beast, those hunters thought Beast was Bigfoot… and with everything you and the dragon have said… I guess when I thought about how horrible it was to be treated differently, I never even tried to look past what directly affected me. I'm sorry."

"For vhat? Everyzhing zhat's happened to us? You can't do anything about it. If zhings could be done, I vould have done zhem long before I… long before… it happened."

"You're not talking about just the mobs, are you, Kurt?"

"Please… I can't talk about it. I just can't."

There was silence. Then: "Are you okay?"

"You have no idea how much I've vished I could be normal. Vhat I'd give to have 5 fiungers on each hand, 5 toes on each foot, no fangs, no fur, no tail."

"Oh, Kurt. I'm sorry." The dragon heard skin brushing fur and put a question to the lights; they answered that Kitty had just wrapped her arms around Kurt.

"If it's worth anything, I like you the way you are. Your fangs emphasize your smile; your tail tells me how you are; I like how soft your fur is. The way you are now is just fine with me." Silence again. The dragon began to creep away from the room she had determined they were in. She tuned them out, but not before catching one last word from Kurt to Kitty:

"Danke."

The dragon followed Professor Xavier into what looked like a bedroom, having no idea as to why he'd called her. He turned to face her.

"I apologize that we didn't organize this last night when you came, but for as long as you wish to stay here, this will be your room."

"Mine?" the dragon circled it. "The room, the desk, the bed… they're mine?"

"Of course."

The dragon halted by the bed and looked at it. "And I can sleep… on it?"

"Whatever do you mean by that?"

The dragon shuffled her paws in an embarrassed way. She didn't answer out loud, but Xavier read it in her thoughts.

'The people who tried to keep me as a pet yelled and sometimes hit me when I went on the furniture.'

"Dragon, listen to me. You will be treated the way you should be here. You will have the same privileges as any of my other students while you stay here. You'll be respected as a person. I promise."

The dragon nodded, unable to speak. Professor Xavier left, and the dragon leaped onto the bed. Curling up on one of the pillows, the dragon thought, 'maybe being different like this… isn't a bad thing. Maybe it could be okay.'

**A/N there. Well? What did you think? Please leave a review, the more reviews I get the faster I will try to update. The next chapter has some action in it, too, so if you want to read it, leave some thoughts!**


	10. Lurking in the Dark

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay, next chapter. **_**One Small Word**_**'s review seemed like she was pretty desperate for the next chapter, so here it is. I'll try not to disappoint. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

10. Lurking in the Dark

The dragon yawned and blinked her eyes open. A streak of red light exploded in front of her face, assaulting her eyes. She sprang up. Something was very wrong.

Kurt stared in horror. He had woken up that morning to find a note attached to his mirror. At first he had dismissed it- a lot of the younger mutants liked to play tricks. The he looked at what it actually said, and his blood froze. What had really got him was the name it had called him. Only one person had ever called him that- they had used to tease him with that name. It was impossible for that person to have left it, so who or what had come? He read the note again:

'I saw you yesterday in your room with that girl. Cute scene, Kurti. But she was wrong. You are a monster, and I will prove it.'

Kurt swallowed hard and threw the note into an empty drawer in his dresser. This couldn't be happening, it couldn't be. He took a deep breath and shook his head as though trying to shake the memory of the note out of it. He resolved to forget the note, but he couldn't ignore his prickling fur, nor could he stop himself from thinking about the dragon's strange warning.

The dragon had been on the alert for about an hour. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Someone had commented to Kurt that he was later than usual when he 'ported down, but he seemed fine. The dragon lay on the floor of the living room, staring at the chattering TV without seeing it. What was the light warning about?

"Hey, Earth to Dragon!" the voice broke through her thoughts.

"Huh?" the dragon looked up to see Rahne grinning at her.

"I said, you don't have to sit on the floor. There's room on the couch, if you claim it before the others wake up and come down."

"Oh… okay." The dragon got up, but before she could move, the house shook- violently. "I don't think that was the usual breakfast stampede… was it?" the dragon asked. Rahne was already off the couch and moving to check the front windows.

"Oh, no, not the Brotherhood." She groaned. "It's Saturday." The dragon heard frantic activity coming from every room that belonged to students or teachers. Rahne headed for the entrance hall, with the dragon deciding to follow.

They reached the entrance hall and stopped. A puff of smoke and Kurt was there. Kitty dropped in through the ceiling. The rest of the students began thundering down the stairs. Rahne backed over to the side of the entrance hall and transformed into a wolf. The dragon blinked. 'Oh, that's why she smells canine!' the dragon thought. 'And why she laps her water!' Rahne saw her looking and flashed a wolfish grin at her. Then the doors were opened, and everyone rushed outside.

Confusion reigned. A lot of yelling and a few attacks were exchanged. Then a voice, someone from the other team, yelled out:

"Hey, hold it! We just wanted you to come out here because Lance said there was a dragon! We wanted to see if it was true!"

Things more or less stopped then, and all the X-kids backed toward the mansion. Rahne somehow ended up next to the dragon and looked at her. The dragon nodded and slowly wound her way through the crown to stand nervously at the front. Once there, she glanced up at the other, much smaller group of mutants containing four boys and a girl.

"This thing?" said a blond-haired boy. He looked at a boy with brown hair and a larger build- one the dragon recognized. "Lance, you can't be serious. This thing couldn't beat up a Chihuahua." Suddenly, the blond-haired boy was right in front of her, and he hit the dragon's head hard with the back of his hand. Taken by surprise, the dragon toppled over. She heard some angry yells and a wolf's furious growl from the crowd behind her, but before they could move, the dragon rolled back onto her feet, snapped her mouth open, and breathed a heavy stream of thick, dense black fog. The blond boy, too close and not expecting it, couldn't run in time. The others behind him, not having his speed, were enveloped as well. The dragon kept it going for a few moment, then stopped. Everyone who had been in her path (just the "Brotherhood", as they had been called) stayed in their positions for a moment as though nothing had happened. The blond boy was the first to keel over. Then one by one, the rest of them dropped like stones. The dragon turned around. Some of the X- kids looked impressed. Rahne, for one, had her head cocked to one side; mouth open, tongue hanging out, and was wagging her tail while grinning. But other X- kids were not impressed. Some just looked astonished, while others looked… afraid. Wolverine was looking at her distrustfully. Then Kurt 'ported beside her.

"Voah! Awesome! Vhat vas zhat… and exactly vhat did it do?"

The dragon gulped. "I call it Shadow Fire… and most of my powers have to do with either shadow, energy, or both, so the best way to describe it, I guess, would be that I send it out, and it sucks out the energy of those it passes over. It doesn't hurt them… just knocks them out."

"So cool." Said Kurt. The dragon looked around nervously. Everyone was still staring at her. This was her limit- she took off suddenly and flew out of sight. She flew in an open window, crawled into the first dark corner she found, shut her eyes, and literally melted away into the shadows as though she wasn't there. Just before she did, though, she asked the light, 'was that what you warned me about?'

'No,' the light told her. 'Keep watching.'

'Watch for what?'

The light did not answer.

Later, Kurt went in his room to find another note on his mirror:

'Nice try. Ignore me all you want, I won't disappear.'

**A/N well, there. Send reviews if you're anxious for the next chapter!**


	11. A Lot of Time Passes

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay. I'm getting my wisdom teeth taken out and I don't know how bad it will be of for how long, so I'm going to post this now.**

**This chapter is extremely short and very pointless, but I need it to cover a bunch of days where nothing much happens. I know that this will likely leave a lot of you dissatisfied. So, this is what I'm going to do. I'm going to type this chapter, then I'm going to post it. Then, I'm going to type up and post the next one. So, if you're reading this and the next chapter is not up yet, then you should only have to wait an hour or two **_**at the very most.**_** Hopefully, the next one will be to your satisfaction. Okay, now that you know what's going on, on with the story!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

11. A Lot of Time Passes

Days passed at the institute. The dragon adjusted a little to the life there. While several students still avoided or looked at the dragon with fear, she became good friends with Kurt, Kitty, and Rahne. She woke every morning to have red light explode in her eyes in warning, but try as she might, she couldn't see why. She curled up each night to have the light tell her to keep watching, and refusing to answer what she was watching for. Then one day, she noticed that Kurt was off. Edgy. Eventually, the other students began to notice too, as it got slightly worse each day. Several people asked him a few times if he was okay. He never answered. He began to eat less and less. Sometimes he vanished for hours at a time, and they couldn't find him however hard they tried, not even the dragon. When he came back, he would go straight to his room and refuse to talk to anyone. His eyes lost their golden glow, becoming dim. Everyone at the institute tried to talk to him, but he refused to tell them what was wrong and seemed determined to keep them all out of his room. He started looking worse and worse, as though he were horribly sick. Then, one Sunday night, he came to the dinner table, pushed all his food around, then left without eating anything at all.


	12. Blood and Comfort

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N Here's the next chapter, just as I promised. by the way, this was inspired a little bit by chapter 8 (Of Blood and Tears) of Blue by Nightcrwler's Shadow.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

12. Blood and Comfort

"Okay, we've got to figure out what's up with Blue. He looks like he's halfway between here and death." Said Bobby.

"Charles," said Wolverine, "Do you think- Hey! What do you think you're doing?"

The dragon flinched, but didn't respond. She had crawled onto the tabletop and was scenting the area around Kurt's seat. She looked carefully. There! On the table and fork… "Blood."

"What?" Wolverine stood up and stomped over. The dragon looked up.

"There's a tiny amount of blood on his fork and on the table. Judging by his behavior as of late, I'd say he curled his fists so hard that his nails cut his palm, and got some of the blood on his fingertips."

"Logan, Hank, Ororo, Dragon, could we speak in my office? Now, please." Xavier left the table with a glance at each of the aforementioned instructors (…and dragon)

"Dragon, is this the beginning of what you saw?"

"Yes, professor. The light patterns have been sending me the same warning, in red, every morning. I've been on the alert, checking everything out. There has to be a trigger for this, it wouldn't start on its own. But there's nothing that I can find, I can't see nor hear nor smell anything out of place anywhere. Nothing in particular sets him off outside his room; we'd notice. There's no scent in his room but his own, and I doubt he'd deliberately keep something in there that would torture him. But he's definitely being tortured by something, and it's gotten bad. I doubt he'll just tell us, but we have to find out what."

"Yes. I hate to pry, but… there may not be another choice. What I'm most worried about is that when I probe into his mind, I'll unearth the memories bothering him. He'll end up reliving them… and that will break him even more, if he's not ready."

"Yes, it will. It will be a thousand times worse than the flashes he's getting now. But professor, if we know what's happening to him, we can help. If we make him deal with this on his own, he won't make it. If he would, I wouldn't be here. Only one rare person in a few million could overcome a past that's like a living hell without help. It nearly always consumes them."

"Dragon's right, Charles." Growled Wolverine, which surprised her- the dragon didn't think his usual attitude toward her would permit him to say so. "Even I needed some help from you. The Elf can't do this on his own."

"Kurt is going to need your help, Charles." Said Storm.

"Yes." The professor sighed. "Is there any way that this could be made easier for him?"

"Yes." Said the dragon. Xavier looked at her sharply. "Kitty. From what I've noticed, he really does relax a bit when she's nearby. I think it would help if she were there for him. But… we would need to tell her everything that we already know."  
>The professor nodded. "If you think that will help…"<p>

"Sir, I think she'd do anything she could for him if she knew."

"Alright."

For awhile the five waited in the office, until Kitty walked through the door. "You called for me?"

"Yes, Kitty. We need to talk to you, but you must promise that you will not talk about this to anyone outside this room."

"Alright, Professor, I won't… what's this about?"

"Kurt." The dragon answered. Kitty looked at the dragon. The dragon looked at Professor Xavier, who nodded. "Okay," said the dragon, "I guess I'll start with exactly why I came here…"

Kitty phased through the door of Kurt's room. "Hey, Kurt, I… oh, God. Kurt!"

Kurt sat in something close to the fetal position, gripping his arms so tightly that tiny cuts and trickles of blood were all along them. Kitty ran over and pulled his hands away. Holding them tightly, she whispered, "What's hurting you, Kurt? what's bothering you so much that you're hurting yourself like this?"

He looked at her, his eyes dull with terror, sadness, pain, and a whole bunch of other things. "I can't tell you." He whispered back.

"Kurt, look… hold on a moment, and we'll talk about this. Before Kurt could protest or say anything else, she went to the nearest washroom and came back with the first aid kit (there was one in every washroom). She began to gently treat the cuts on his arms as she spoke to him. "Kurt, everyone at the institute knows something's bothering you. We can tell something's hurting you. Why won't you tell us what's wrong?"

"My past… is my burden to bear… and besides… you vould all hate me if you knew vhat had happened… vhat I did…" His voice shook.

"No, Kurt. We're your friends. No matter what happened in you past. We want to help. Kurt, we've already decided what we're going to do. You're going to stay home from school tomorrow, so that no one sees this. When I get back after school, the Professor and I will come in here. Whatever is wrong, we'll help you. I promise. But please, you have to help us help you. We want… I want… to see you get better. Wait one second." Kitty swiftly returned the first aid kit to the washroom and went back to Kurt's room. She took both of his hands again. "Kurt, whatever I have to do, I want to help you."

"You can't. You need to go. Zhere's no need for you to stay vith me. Zhe only von to deal vith zhis should be me. Zhis is not you problem-"

"You're right." Kitty cut him off. "I don't have to… I want to. You're my best friend, Kurt. you've been the best friend anyone can ever have. You do everything you can for me. The least I can do is the same. And if what I can do for you includes staying with you all night, keeping you from hurting yourself and making sure you go to sleep, then that's exactly what I'll do. I owe it to you- you protected me from Lance. I'm not leaving you, Kurt. Things will be okay, I promise. Now, come on. You look like you need the rest, badly." Eventually, with coaxing and repeating some gentle but firm commands a few times, Kitty finally got Kurt to lie down on the bed and shut his eyes. 'Whatever you're going through, I hope I can really help.' Kitty thought. 'I don't want anything to happen to you, Fuzzy.'

"Keety."

"Huh?"

"You should really go. I don't vant you to be dragged into this."

"Kurt, whatever you're talking about, I don't care. Whatever you're into that you want out of, I will gladly jump in to help you out. We'll get out of this together. Now stop talking; you won't convince me otherwise. Good night."

**A/N there, there's that one. Well, as usual, please tell me what you think. Who knows, reviews may help me recover faster. ;p at the very least, they'll give me something to read while I lie around with a bag of frozen peas on my jaw. I'd appreciate it.**


	13. Blood Red Warnings

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N ahh, I feel like updating! You know all those horror stories you hear about removed wisdom teeth? You won't hear one from me. Well, maybe for the first hour or two I felt like I wanted to roll over and die, but after that, pfft! I was making my own soup by dinner time. I only refrained from updating earlier because I wanted to make sure there was no delayed reaction or something. But, pretty much nothing has happened, so I'm writing the next chapter. I appreciate the enthusiastic reviews I was given while I was offline. Oh, but don't worry, while I was waiting I did get out my pencil, eraser, and big blue story binder and work on fictions I'm going to post! (Yes, pencil. I'm old fashioned that way.) So, here's the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

13. Blood Red Warnings

"Professor, are you sure I shouldn't just skip school for today so we can help Kurt now?"

"Kitty, I understand your concern. I'm worried too. But it would not be a good idea for anyone here to miss school, if they can help it. We don't want to give the teachers and other students any wrong ideas about mutant students. Kurt will be fine. We'll watch him. Just be ready when you get back."

"Yes, Professor." Kitty walked out the door, casting some backward looks. The dragon set her head against the door and pushed it shut.

"How is he now, Dragon?" Xavier asked.

"Sleeping. I'd place a bet on that he hasn't for days, so he'll be out for quite awhile."

"Good."

"Yes."

"There! Here she comes!" the dragon watched Kitty run up the driveway through the window. Professor Xavier looked up when she phased through the door.

"We going now?" she asked breathlessly.

"Yes, we were waiting for you. We're ready to-" Professor Xavier was suddenly cut off by a yell from the dragon.

"Aaahh! Uuugh… nnnff!" the dragon squealed. Red light was exploding in her eyes as though someone hat lit a firecracker on her nose. She dropped and placed her paws over her eyes.

"Dragon? Dragon!" she heard the professor say. Underneath his voice, she heard another sound: electric crackling and wires being torn. Then the tell- tale sount of Kurt teleporting. The dragon forced herself to her paws and opened her eyes. Her vision was tinted red quite darkly; she shook her head wildly as though that would clear it, but the red hue stayed.

"Something's happened." She said. "Something's wrong, really wrong." The dragon charged up the stairs and headed to Kurt's room without looking back at the others.

The X-men, every one of them, gathered in the entrance hall. "We have an emergency." The Professor had told them. He addressed them all again now: "Kurt is missing. He broke Cerebro so I couldn't use it to find him and left so quickly that I never caught it in his mind. When we searched his room, we found these." Xavier gestured towards the dragon, who padded forward, a stack of notes in her mouth. She put them on the floor.

"Most of these were in a drawer, but one was attached to his mirror." She continued. "Someone was threatening him." There was a collective gasp from several of the X-men. "The only scent on them was Kurt's own… except for the last one, the one on the mirror, which had no scent at all. It's not really clear what these notes are implying, but… there's no doubt that he's in danger. And there's no doubt that these are the trigger that made Kurt start acting the way he has been. We believe that something happened in Kurt's past that he tried to forget, and when these notes started appearing, the memories came back to torture him. Here." The dragon passed the notes to the students so they could read them. The dragon knew what they said, having asked Kitty to read them to her. In a voice that shook the entire time, Kitty had told her what they said:

"'I saw you yesterday in your room with that girl. Cute scene, Kurti. But she was wrong. You are a monster, and I will prove it.'

"'Nice try. Ignore me all you want, I won't disappear.'

"'So you thought the only one to call you Kurti was dead? Perhaps that's true, but I refuse to let you forget.'

"'Do you know what's coming up? The third anniversary of Stephan's death. You haven't done a bad job of hiding from it. But I won't let you hide anymore.'

"'It took three years to find you, but I will make that time up very soon.'

"'Search all you want; you can't find me. Keep watch all you like; you will never see me.'

"'I refuse to let you start a new life. You life should have ended three years ago.'

"'I will make sure you get what's coming. And I will take pleasure in making you suffer in every way I can think of.'

"'Tell you what. You seem fond of that girl, Kitty. Either you come out to the forest and we'll take things up there, or I'll make sure that Kitty's death is the same cause as Stephan's, and I'll make sure you're the first to find her body.'"

And the last was: "'Good. Let the hunt begin.'"

The X-men stared in horrified shock. Then voices broke out.

"We have to do something!"

"Who's Stephan?"

"Where is he?"

"How are we going to find him?"

'Quiet.' Xavier sent into the minds of all his students. "Finding him will be difficult, yes. He broke Cerebro, teleported so there's no scent trail, and he's outside the range of my mind. But I've been talking to the dragon, and-"

"The dragon!" Iceman cut in. "you know, all of this started shortly after she got here. How do we know she's not behind this? She could have written those notes!" mutterings broke out; some in agreement, some in outrage. The dragon stepped forward, pushing away her crippling fear of large groups of people- this was no time for that!

"You think I wrote those notes? Buddy, I've lived completely on my own since I was four. I don't even know how to read those notes! Why else would you think I passed them around?" Wolverine looked at her.

"I'm pretty sure you had nothing to do with those notes, but I would still like to know why we should trust you."

The dragon took a deep breath, looked at Wolverine, then spoke loudly and clearly so everyone could hear. "Everything and everyone that has mass has an attractive force, but on anything other than planets, the only thing those attractive forces affect is fragments of light. No one can see those fragments- no one, that is, except for me. I can see the patterns, and each thing and person has a different light pattern. The light patterns around me tell me some things, including where to find what I'm looking for. I know Kurt's light pattern we'll comb the woods. They aren't that big. A few square miles. And the moment Kurt is in a one- mile radius, I'll know where to find him. I realize that you're afraid of my power. I could easily knock out everyone here. I could take everyone on single- pawed. But I assure you, I would never dream of it. I would never want to. I came here because I want to help. And you need to trust me right now… because I'm your only chance."

There was silence for a moment, then Iceman spoke up quietly. "Well… I guess… put like that, she does have a point. Sorry, Dragon. So… I guess we should start looking before our chance to help Kurt melts away like ice cream in the sun, huh?"

The X- Kids all looked at Wolverine, who finally nodded.

"Lead the way, Dragon."

**A/N whew, there's another one finished. Review, and the next chapter will come faster. Tell me, what 'cha thinking?**

**Later!**


	14. Tortured Past

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay, here's the next chapter. Hehehe… there's a dolphin stamp on one of the pages in my binder. Sorry, that was random. Okay, I'll get to it.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

14. Tortured Past

They went through the forest at a swift clip, following the dragon. Kitty felt completely lost, but the dragon seemed confident, so Kitty made sure to stay directly behind her.

"Any sign of him yet?"

"No, and I will tell you when there is, so please don't start repeating that question every few minutes."

"Sorry."

"Forget about it."

There were a few moments of silence before Kitty spoke again, whispering like before, and feeling like she'd panic or faint if she didn't distract herself by talking.

"You really lived alone since you were four?"

"That's right. That's when I mutated, and when I… lost… both parents. I got sick of people's reactions toward me, so I left populated areas, and raised myself. That was five years ago."

"No wonder you usually act so uncomfortable around us. Alone that long… don't you have any questions about things we have here- wait. You said five years? That would make you nine."

"That's correct."

"Strange, I thought you'd be older. You're very mature for a nine- year- old."

"That's what Kurt said, too. And, I actually do have a question about something Iceman said, but I'll ask later. Now isn't really the time."

"Right." Kitty whispered. Somehow, she'd almost forgotten the reason they were here during the conversation. Now that she remembered, her worry came back tenfold. "Do you think he's okay?"

"Well, my vision is tinted red, which can't mean anything good, but he's still alive. If he died… well, I'd know."

They ran in silence for a few more moments, then the dragon screeched to a halt so fast that it would have put the world's best braking system to shame. The rest of the huge team stumbled to a halt, all trying very hard not to trip over one another. A few people did end up on the ground, but luckily Jamie managed to avoid bumping into anyone and didn't make it harder with his doubles. The dragon looked quickly in a few different directions before turning slightly to her right.

"I've got him." she said, and charged in that direction. The team lost no time in pursuing her, hoping they still had enough time.

They had reached a tiny clearing and just caught sight of a snarling Kurt when something huge erupted out of the trees and leaped. Before anyone had time to react, it had Kurt pinned to the ground.

"Kurt!" Kitty screamed, and both Kurt and the creature looked at them. the creature, the team saw, was something like a lion, but ten times the size and with a jet- black body and red eyes, as well as _massive _fangs, and almost appeared to be made of smoke. Its body looked familiar… but somehow, the dragon couldn't quite place it.

"V- Vhat are you doing here? You veren't supposed to come!" Kurt choked out.

"Kurt!" Kitty yelled again. Several of the students launched attacks, but the attacks passed right through the creature, and it laughed.

"Perfect." It snarled. Its voice sounded like slabs of concrete being scraped together. "An unexpected but pleasant occurrence. I wanted you to suffer before I killed you; what better way than to make you reveal the worst part of you past to your friends, the people you wanted most to never find out?"

"Let 'im go!" Rogue yelled. The creature laughed again.

"No, I don't think so. And don't think you can make me- you can't touch me. Nothing you do will have an effect, just like your attacks a few moments ago. Now come on, little demon. Tell them what those notes are about. Tell them about Stephan. Tell them what you did, or I will start killing them instead of you, because I want to hear it come out your muoth!" it roared.

"Kurt." Kitty said again, this time sounding desperate. Kurt looked directly at her, then looked away from them all. Voice shaking, he began to speak.

"Vonce, in Germany, zhe villagers found out vhere I lived. I had to leave for avhile, ozhervise zhey vould have killed me and my adoptive parents. I told mein parents I vould be back vhen zhe… activity died down and zhe villagers decided to finish zheir demon hunt. Vonce I had left, I encountered zhe owner of a circus. I became an acrobat zhere, and everyvon zought I vas in costume. Zhe only vons who knew vere zhe owner and zhe ozzer two acrobats, Stephan and Jimaine. Stephan became like mien brozher, Jimaine like mien sister. Zhen von day, a few veeks after I came, zhe circus vas put under new ownership. Zhe new owner, Jardine, vanted me in zhe freak show. I tried to leave, but Jardine had me drugged and put in a cage. After a vhile, Jimaine and Stephan helped me to escape. Stephan called a friend of his from outside to help us escape, a friend he called, 'Tristan.' Vhen ve vere escaping to his friend's truck, zhe owner spotted us and brought out a gun. Jimaine vas shot and killed. Stephan went into a rage."

Kurt swallowed hard. The tremor in his voice had gotten worse, and his body now shook as well. "Stephan vas a mutant as vell. He looked normal, but vhen he got angry he got faster, stronger, and more vicious. He lost himself. Vhen I first joined, he told me all zhis and made me promise that if he ever tried ti kill somevon, I vould kill him."

The shaking in both his voice and his body had gotten worse. "In order to help me escape before I vas drugged again, zhey had been trying to get me out just before all zhe acts ended, because I vas alvays drugged right after. Zhere vere still people around, many of zhem small children… Stephan attacked everyvon in sight. I tried to stop him… but he had killed everyvon zhere already except for me, Jardine, and Tristan. I… vhen I started fighting him, I only wanted to stop him. I only vanted him to come to his senses. I… I never… I never meant to break his neck."

His own voice started breaking, and though the X- men couldn't see his face, it didn't take a genius to know he was crying. But he still wasn't done.

"Tristan ran. Many more people came. zhey saw all zhe bodies zhat surrounded me, and zhey … zhey assumed zhat zhey vere killed by me. By zhe demon… and Jardine told zhem zhey vere right. Zhey tied me to a stake and tried to burn me. At first I zhought I vas going to die… zhen, I shut my eyes and zought of home. And suddenly, I vas home. Even now I'm not sure how I managed… but zhe very first time I teleported, I made it back home in von try."

"So that's how you survived." Snarled the monster, who still had Kurt pinned down. "A few years passed and you ended up here, trying to start a new life. You should have died at that stake! You should have died for killing my friend Stephan!"

Kurt looked at the black monster, his eyes widening. "Tristan?" he choked out.

"You got it." Suddenly the creature unsheathed massive claws and took a swipe at Kurt, scooping him off the ground and throwing him into a tree, hard.

"X- men!" yelled Wolverine. "Stop that thing!"

**A/N well… I'm going to stop it there. Sorry. ;p **

**By the way, I got the names Jardine, Jimaine, and Stephan from other fics that I've read. I don't know if they were actually a part of Kurt's past, but either way, I twisted them around to fit my uses.**

**I made up Tristan myself.**

**Well, if you want the next chapter, review! I will update faster with more reviews.**


	15. It All Comes Down to This

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N here's the next chapter! Thanks for keeping up with my story this far, it's become around two- thirds finished (I can hardly believe it… I'll probably be sad when it's over).**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- men: Evo.**

15. It All Comes Down to This

The X-men tried. They tried the powers of every X- man there. But they all passed right through the creature. It laughed.

"I told you, there's nothing you can do. Honestly, I just want Kurt dead. If you quit attacking, I'll leave you alone. I'd be more than happy to ignore you."

A tiny figure ran in front of him and screeched to a halt.

"Ignore this!" hissed the two- foot dragon, and black lightning sparked around its body for a moment. She opened her mouth and a spear of it leaped out and arced towards the creature. The creature gave a smug, evil grin as it raced towards him… then let out a scream of shock and pain when it hit him. The creature glared at the dragon. Then thick, black mist seemed to cover and swirl around him. When it dissipated, the creature's shape had changed into that of a human, though it still seemed to be made of thick smoke. Then the same substance that made up its body leaked out of the ground. That's when several things seemed to happen at once. The creature, now looking somewhat like they boy he'd once been, seized Kurt. The smoke surrounded Kurt and the creature like a bubble, tinted black but translucent- you could still see through it. The moment the bubble was up, the dragon understood. But before a second had even passed, the remaining smoke outside the bubble formed long, hard whips. They came at her before she could react, and hit her with such power that she was thrown back into the trees. The X- men heard her squalling until there was a sickening thud.

Inside the hazy black bubble, Kurt let out a yell that was immediately cut short when the smoke- boy grabbed his throat. Kurt struggled for a moment, then went limp as an eerie black light started shining from Tristan.

"What's he doing?" Kitty screamed.

"Dunno, but Ah doubt tha' it's good!" Rogue yelled back.

The X- men started trying everything they could think of to get through the shield. Those who ran at it got thrown back- including Kitty when she tried to phase. Attacks vanished the moment they touched they shield, only to reappear on the exact opposite side, as though they had passed right through the shield and everything in it. Every now and then, smoke flared of the shield, and those who were touched by it dropped to the ground. There were several that lay on the ground now. They seemed unhurt, but they were unconscious. Kitty was one of the members still standing. She was about to try rushing at the barrier again (unable to do anything else) when she heard a voice behind her.

"Hey, Kitty!" she turned. The dragon crawled out of the bushes, and Kitty winced. A tiny trickle of blood was dripping down in between the dragon's eyes, in addition to the streams flowing down her neck, sides, legs, and wings. It was hard to tell exactly where the injuries were- the blood was everywhere. "Kitty, I need you to listen closely. I know what we can do." Kitty looked at the bubble for a moment, then knelt.

"What's the plan?"

"Okay, just listen. That creature is draining Kurt's energy. He said it before himself- he just wants Kurt dead. The energy he's draining from Kurt is going into that shield, to keep us out until he drains so much of Kurt's energy that Kurt dies. We only have a minute or two now, but if we can make him lose his grip on Kurt, he will stop draining his energy and the shield will go down. Now, my energy blast that hit him in the form of lightning earlier hurt him like nothing else did. I have one more attack that's more powerful than that. If I fire it and it hits his shield, it should disrupt him enough that, for a very brief moment, the shield should weaken enough to let you phase through. But Kitty, I have to warn you of two things. The first is that I can only fire this attack once. The second… well, it might not work. You should just know this: if we do nothing, Kurt will die. If we try and succeed, no one will die. If we try and fail, then you, me, Kurt… chances are good that we'll all die. It wouldn't want to let us live if there was a chance we could beat it. The chance of us succeeding… are maybe as high as one in five. Maybe lower. I want you to know that trying this plan is your choice, and I won't blame you if you say no." 'The world will spiral into war if we don't save Kurt… I know that most of the people here will think that if they can't save a friend of theirs from his past, how could they save others from present dangers… but…' the dragon thought to herself, 'the chances of succeeding are so low… whatever you choose… whatever the outcome, it won't be your fault, Kitty. It's not easy to make the decision to deliberately put your life on the line.'

Kitty looked at Kurt, limp in that creatures hands inside that horrible bubble, for a long moment. Then she stood.

"Let's do this."

The dragon grinned.

The dragon crept around in the undergrowth. 'It all comes down to this.' She thought. Kitty was part of the plan, certainly, but the dragon felt as though she held the odds. The dice were hers to roll. At stake: thousands of lives. 'All or nothing!' she crashed out of the bushes to stand in front of the bubble, the bastard inside it facing her. He snarled. The dragon tipped her head back and opened her mouth. Slowly, a black ball formed in her jaws and began to grow.

"What are you doing?" the creature demanded. "What is that?"

The dragon ignored him, focusing on her black globe until it was large enough that she could only just hold it in her jaws. Then she snapped her head forward and spat the ball at him in a quick, jerky movement. When it collided with his shield, the whole thing began to ripple. Kitty dashed up to the shield behind the creature. The dragon held her breath… and took in even more air when Kitty phased through the shield and leaped, tackling the unconscious Kurt and phasing him out of Tristan's murderous grip. The shield vanished. The dragon's world suddenly spun and became hazy, but even as she staggered with sudden exhaustion, she saw Tristan make a run for it. She hissed and forced herself to follow.

"Kurt! Kurt!" Kitty cried. She turned him on his back and put her hand on his chest. Tears started running down her cheeks as she realized she could feel his heartbeat, fainter than it should have been, but still there. "Oh, thank goodness. We did it. We were in time." Kitty's body began shaking, and though all the conscious X- men members were watching, she hugged him and cried with relief.

Tristan raced through the forest, seething. He would get them all for this! He would kill them all! Starting with- suddenly, Tristan tripped and hit the ground. His left leg felt suddenly stuck as though someone had pinned it, but that was impossible… wasn't it? He looked back. There, behind him, purple eyes glittering, claws dug into the ground in the shadow of his left leg, was a little, two foot long dragon. She grinned.

"Gotcha."

**A/N well, there. **

**How could the dragon hurt him when no one else could? The answer is… in the next chapter. So, if you want to know, send me a review! Tell me, how have I been doing?**


	16. A Body to Hurt

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N I haven't updated in a while. Sorry. It's amazing how hectic and stressful things can become even when all you have to worry about are some paper routes. (Four of them, 120 papers.) That's one excuse. My other excuse is that I got a new laptop a few days ago, I just installed Word on it now, and I've been wanting to, when I got it on here, test it out by doing my next chapter.**

**Something I don't have an excuse for is that I looked at the remaining chapters I have to post and realized that they were all… really… short. Heh heh. Well, since they're short, they'll **_**probably**_** come faster.**

**Well, time to stop talking and get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- Men: Evo.**

16. A Body to Hurt

"What is this? How can this be possible?" the creature roared.

"You want to know?" the dragon grinned. "Fine. I'll tell you everything you need to know. I figured you out. I figured out exactly how you managed this. You're body, it looks just like my Shadow Fire."

"What?" the creature growled.

"When you put up that shield, I understood. I realized it. You reminded me… of me. My powers all have to do with either energy or shadow. I can control forms of outside energy; if someone was manipulating, say, magnetic energy, or kinetic energy, I could stop them easily with a glance. I can also control my own energy, focusing it inside me and attacking with it, like the black lightning and the energy ball you saw earlier, and send it out to strike things. That does have a drawback, though; I literally fight with my own energy; therefore, it drains quickly. But my shadow powers drain the energy of others, with the sole exception of my Shadow Join. My Shadow Fire drains what it touches- just as yours did back in that clearing with the others. The energy doesn't go to me, though the energy of those I trap in my Shadow Hold does. I clued in to what you are when I saw your shield. It drains your energy, unless you steal it from another, like you took from Kurt. It makes everything inside as insubstantial as shadow… just like mine does. Yes, I can raise one too. I don't, though… it's… really hard. Everything within it as untouchable as shadow… as Shadow Fire. And you, boy, are made of it. Your body is made of Shadow Fire. That was how you were able to drain Kurt's energy, and how you were able to throw up a shield. It also explains why none of the others could hurt you; you don't have a body to hurt. _You're a shadow._ And that is why I can get you. Shadow can be hit by shadow, and by light. Energy, when you get down to the most basic basics, is the purest form of shadow and light. Energy comes from the positive and negative charges that permeate everything. Positive charges, or positive energy, is light, and negative charges, negative energy, is shadow. I can mostly just manipulate negative energy; but that's enough. Enough to make my Shadow Hold more effective on you than on anyone else. Enough that, at the moment, I can't feel any of the effects of launching my earlier attacks, because I'm taking your energy through my Shadow Hold, enough that I can keep going… rather like the effects of adrenaline."

"Aren't you feeling talkative? Planning to drive me towards death with your chatter, or what?" the creature snarled. The dragon blinked.

"You were the one who wanted to know. When I explain things, I like to give a very clear picture, if I can. And I'm not worried about giving too much away, not with you. I want you to know exactly how I can take you out.

The creature gave a bark of laughter. "You kill me, and the effects of firing the lightning and that globe, as well as all those serious injuries, will all come swarming back. I've no idea how you mustered the strength to come after me, nor how you even plan to do so, but the moment you kill me, the energy keeping you upright will be gone. You'll pass out immediately. The others are worrying about that blue demon. They won't see you collapse out here, and they won't think to look for you until he's safely at the institute. By the time they find you, chances are very good that you'll have died of blood loss."

"I know."

The creature made an odd sound, a choked gasp of disbelieved shock.

"I'm well aware of that. I also think you need to look more closely. Do I look like I care? Because you see, I don't. I have less to live for than you do. Speaking of which… you are far too dangerous to be allowed to run wild. If my death is your last accomplishment, then so be it. I will pay your final price. Now," said the dragon, stepping closer, "I'm done talking about how this can happen. I really don't think there's anything more to say. Now, I have to kill you. I don't like ending lives, but… you're not alive, are you? You're just a mass of anger and hatred. I don't know why or how you're here, but the boy you're controlling has already died, hasn't he?"

"How do you know that?" the creature rumbled quietly. Strangely, he felt his fury ebb, turning only into a mild curiosity and… acceptance? A strange feeling was within him, as though whatever filled him with evil was drawing back. The dragon felt it too, and knew that they both knew if she freed him, it would come back with a vengeance.

"I know many things." She said, equally as quiet. "I trust my instincts and my senses, what my senses tell me. Even I do not know how I know all the things I know, but I do know that what I sense is right, usually is. And I know… if you left, you would only hurt countless others. I can't let you do that. My Shadow Join… will allow me to stop you. And stop you I must. I'm sorry… Tristan."

The boy called Tristan, for Tristan he finally was once more, nodded. "When you're ready… I am. I have, after all, died once already… please, don't let me hurt anyone else. I don't want to fight anymore."

The dragon nodded. Opening her mouth, she tipped it upwards, and Shadow Fire came out. Not in the heavy stream she breathed before, but in a steady trickle, coating her body as it ran down until it covered her… until she, too, became a shadow. She stalked up to Tristan's chest.

"Shadow is created when an object is bathed with light… when your light was removed, by some force I can't comprehend, the balance was upset, and you became what you are… I would think that same force sent you here, though I still don't know what or why. But wherever you came from, I must send you back… I'm sorry." The dragon whispered. Tristan nodded. The dragon lifted her front right paw, dripping with Shadow Fire, and thrust it into his chest where his heart used to be. Tristan gave a single, short scream, then dissolved like mist. The shadow of the dragon's body vanished as well, her physical form reappeared, and she collapsed.

In the bushes, a wolf swallowed hard. What a horrible spectacle. She'd seen the dragon go after him, and followed her scent, just to watch her kill something that had a very human shape. Rahne stood, frozen, until the Professor spoke in her mind.

'She was right. I tried to go into his mind, and I sensed only exactly what she did. Tristan was already dead. That was simply a large amount of hatred, anger, and desire to cause pain that took over his form. If the dragon had not stopped it, it would have cause only widespread destruction. Bring her to the institute, Rahne… quickly, or she won't make it.'

Rahne nodded and padded over to the dragon. With some careful manoeuvres, the dragon lay across her back and, using scent, began to track the path back out of the woods. It would take some time to get the image of her friend digging her claws into the chest of something that looked like a young man (if the image left at all), but she knew the dragon had only done what she had to do. Just like Kurt did with Stephan. Those deaths… were not really their fault.

**A/N Whew… that actually came out longer. Stuff that wasn't written in my story binder came out while I typed it. The rest will probably stay short, though.**

**Anyway, that chapters that come after is pretty much just the romance fluff I wanted to put in. So, this is the end of the other genre the story should be. Now, could you do me a favour, and tell me what other genre this should fall under? I'd appreciate it.**

**And, while you're at it, what did you think? I was satisfied. I left some questions open for a reason, but I'm not going to go into that reason right now- I'll discuss it in an Author's Note closer to the end.**

**So hey, tell me- was the main storyline good? No one disappointed, I hope? Other than the people wanting fluff- don't worry, that's up next! Fluff in the remaining 6 chapters I have left to wrap up!**

**Leave a review!**


	17. Because I Know You

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N well, here's the next chapter. And yeah, it's really short. Tell you what. I'll post two. Especially since the next chapter is even shorter. Heh… heh…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- Men: Evo.**

17. Because I Know You

Kitty sat next to Kurt's bed in the infirmary. She hadn't moved since they got him there yesterday. Rahne was there too, at the adjacent bed, which held the dragon. The dragon had injuries just about everywhere; the worst were on her wings. The infirmary was quiet; no one else was there. Everyone who had been hit with the Shadow Fire flaring off Tristan's shield had woken up a few hours after it had knocked them out, just as the Brotherhood had after their encounter with the dragon's. The silence was suddenly broken when the dragon stirred.

"Kurt?" she peered sleepily at his still form in the other bed. "How is he?"

"His energy was drained quite a bit, so it will take awhile, but… he will recover, thanks to you."

"Thanks to _us_." The dragon smiled. "Couldn't have done it without you. Though, you should know… it won't be just the energy depletion. If these events leave his mind unaffected, I'll eat my tail. He'll need your help to get through this."

"I know. That's why I'm here."

The dragon smiled again, then turned to Rahne.

"You were there, weren't you? I'm sorry you had to see… what happened after. I'd imagine it kind of … freaked you out…"

"Yes." Rahne said. "Yes, it did. But it's alright. If that thing ran around, people would get hurt or even killed. You did what you had to, just like Kurt in his past. It's okay. I know you… and I know you wouldn't hurt anyone if you could help it."

With that, Rahne stood. She tapped the dragon lightly on the head in an affectionate kind of way, then left. The dragon smiled, curled up, and shut her eyes, making the infirmary quiet once more.

A few hours later, Kurt was the one to stir. Kitty rose and hovered over him hopefully. It seemed to take him a few moments to realize where he was and remember what had happened. When the confusion in his eyes cleared, he caught sight of Kitty.

"Oh, nien." He whispered, and turned his head away.

"Kurt?" she whispered back. "What, Kurt?"

"Vhy are you here?"

"I… I was worried about you." Kitty's voice shook. Was he saying he didn't want her here?

"Vorried? You've heard my past now; you know I've killed somevon. Aren't you scared of me? Don't you hate me?"

"No… Kurt, no! I… I'm horrified that it happened to you, but I know it's not your fault."

"It is." He whispered miserably.

"No." Kitty whispered firmly. "You didn't kill Stephan, you set him free. You stopped him from doing something he didn't want to do, and now he never has to worry about it again. But Kurt… why didn't you tell anyone about this?"

"I vanted to forget… and even if I can't, zhis isn't somezhing ozhers should vorry about. Zhis… should only hurt me. Besides… I vas sure people vould be afraid and hate me if zhey knew." Kurt didn't turn his face back toward her, but Kitty could see tears leaking from the one eye that was visible. She reached out and turned his face so she could look straight at him.

"We wouldn't be afraid or hate you no matter what, Kurt. We all know you wouldn't hurt anyone on purpose. We're your friends, Kurt. We'll help you in any way you need us to."

"Vhy? Vhy vould you do all zhis?"

"Because I know you. Because you're the greatest guy I know. And because I know you'd do the same for me. Kurt… I want to help you. Whenever you need someone… I'll be here. Okay?"

Kurt slowly nodded, the tears falling a little more thickly. He shut his eyes and Kitty sat back down. The infirmary became quiet yet again, and it stayed that way for the rest of the day.

**A/N well, that's chapter17. Chapter 18 is really short, but cute. By the way, I'd still like to know what other genre this should be. I'll ask again on the next one, since these'll be going up close to the same time.**

**Send a review!**


	18. Because You Need Me

X- Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N chapter 18, like I said I would.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X- Men: Evo.**

18. Because you need me.

Kitty woke from her doze in the chair to the sound of Kurt thrashing and whimpering.

"Nien." He wailed. "Nien, es ist nicht meine schuld! Ich war es nicht!" *

"Kurt!" Kitty hissed, shaking him.

"Bitte! Nien, bitte!"*

"Kurt!" Kitty said urgently. "Kurt, wake up! KURT!"

Kurt's eyes snapped open and his body surged up and away from Kitty, moving as though he were about to start running. Kitty leaned forward and wrapped her arms around him quickly so he couldn't move.

"It's okay." She whispered. "It's okay, there's just me here. No one else. You're safe here, it's okay. There's only us."

Kurt began shaking, and the short, ragged breaths he was drawing told Kitty he was crying. She pulled him back down onto the bed and kept one hand on his chest. He turned his head away from her. She took her other hand and gently ran it through his hair.

"Do you want to talk about it?" she asked softly.

"No!"

"Alright, easy." Kitty whispered. "You don't have to if you don't want to. But if you ever do, I'll be here."

For a moment, the room was quiet. Then:

"Vhy?"

"What?"

"Vhy do you stay here? Vhy do zhis for me? After vhat I've done…"

"You haven't done anything that doesn't deserve this, Kurt. I'm here because you need me. Don't try to tell me to leave. I want to help you, anyway I can. So I'm staying with you. Deal with it. Now go back to sleep; you look exhausted."

***The German he said is roughly (not accurately, as I have little knowledge of German, but roughly) translated to mean, "No, it wasn't my fault! It wasn't me!" and "Please! No, please!"**

**A/N and yes… I do believe that was the shortest chapter so far. Wow. The next one is longer, I promise. And… this is also the only chapter yet that doesn't mention the dragon at all. I don't think the next one does, either. Ah, well. She is kind of unconscious.**

**Also, what other genre should this be? Told you I'd ask again.**

**Review for me!**


	19. Fur and Fairytales

X-Men: Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N been awhile since I updated. My excuse? Ummm… I've been holed up in the basement watching flashpoint? Sorry, don't have one. I'll make it up to you… how about 2 chapters at once? They're kind of short… well, I'll try to do better for the remainder of the summer. This chapter, by the way, was inspired by the one-shot fic. **_**Fairytales**_** by Nightcrawler's Shadow.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men Evo.**

19. Fur and Fairytales

Kurt paced around. He was exhausted but felt restless, even now that he was allowed back in his room. Perhaps he'd be able to settle once he'd had a shower and brushed his fur, he thought. He grabbed what he needed and went.

Kitty scrambled through the institute. She had gone straight to the infirmary after she'd gotten back from school, only to find that Kurt had been allowed to leave it. Now she was headed up to his room, figuring she would find him there. Upon entering it, she saw him sitting on his bed with his shirt off, pulling a brush through his fur. He looked at her.

"Is zhe vord 'knock' foreign to you?" he asked. Kitty grinned.

"Oops. My bad." She walked over and sat on the bed next to him.

"And… you valk in anyvay." Kurt sighed and put down his brush. Kitty ignored that comment and looked intently at Kurt's face.

"You look exhausted." She said quietly.

"I am." He admitted, surprising himself. "But I just can't seem to relax." His eyes wandered to the walls of his room, unable to look at her in embarrassment at admitting it.

"Sounds rough." Kitty said sympathetically. "Here." She picked up the brush.

"Vhat are you doing?"

"Calm down, Kurt." Kitty gripped his arm before he could slide away from her. She held him firmly, but ran the brush through his fur gently, smoothing his fur and combing it in the proper direction. Kitty felt him tense when she first started, but he quickly relaxed.

Kurt shut his eyes, concentrating on both how nice it felt and on not acting the way his animal side was telling him to. It wasn't until Kitty laughed that he realized his tail was whipping back and forth, hitting her. He winced. Before he could do anything else, though, Kitty took his tail and let it wind around her arm. It behaved and stayed there until she finished brushing his arms, back, and chest. Once she had finished, Kurt forced his tail to move, beet- red and thankful that his fur hid it. He lay down with a sigh. Kitty lay down next to him.

"Can I tell you a fairytale?" she whispered after a moment.

"Sure, I guess."

"Once upon a time there was a princess. That princess was kidnapped by a witch and locked in a tower. People tried to save her, but no one succeeded. One day the witch called demons in from another world and ordered them to help her take over this one. But the demons didn't want to take over the world. They looked a little scary, but they were nice. The leader ordered the others to take the witch back through the portal. Once they did, the portal closed, because only the same number that had gone through could go back. The leader stayed behind and freed the princess. She was afraid of him at first, but he was so kind that she eventually lost that fear. And after a lot of time passed… she realized she loved him."

Kurt sat up and looked at her. She sat up with him.

"Kurt, I… said that for a reason. It… just like in the fairytale, it took me some time, but… I love you."

Looking at her, Kurt suddenly remembered something said in the woods, in private, so long ago and yet not many days ago. Remembered it as clearly as though the dragon was whispering it into his ear once again: "The feeling itself takes time, no matter what the fairytales say." Kurt shook his head.

"Falling in love vith a demon… is never a good idea. Especially vhen I have already done vhat demons are known for doing. You vill only get hurt vith… somezhing like me. You deserve better zhan… zhan zhis."

Kitty reached out and put a hand on his face, molding her palm to his cheek. "You haven't done anything wrong, Kurt. And I don't think anyone could get any better than you. I don't care how hard things will be; I love you." She leaned in and searched his eyes. "Please, Kurt."

Kurt hesitantly closed the distance, and their lips met, but not even a moment passed before Kitty flinched and Kurt pulled back. His fangs had cut her lip. He stood and backed away from the bed. "Zhat's exactly one of zhe zhings I'm talking about!" he cried. Kitty sprang up and wrapped her hands around both his wrists.

"Kurt, it's okay!" she soothed, pulling him back down onto the bed. "I don't mind. And if you do… you'll just have to kiss it better, won't you?" Kurt gave her a weak smile, but looked away. Kitty put one hand back on his face. "Really. It's okay." Kurt's eyes were filled with pain, shame, and guilt. "If you need time, I'll give it to you. When you're ready, I'm here." At last Kurt nodded and lay back down. Kitty lay back down as well, and put her head and left hand on his chest. Tracing invisible patterns in his fur, she let her hand drift around for a few minutes before settling it over his heart. After a few moments of silence, she whispered, "Can you relax now, Fuzzy?" the only answer was deep, even breathing. He was already asleep.

**A/N there. That was actually a little awkward to write, for some reason. And, hey, I lied earlier; the dragon is mentioned. Oops. Anyway, please review!**


	20. Because I Love You

X-Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**Okay, chapter 20. A short one. I'll try to make up the long wait and short chapters by posting the next chapter in two or three days. If I don't, my apologies.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evo.**

20. Because I Love You.

The dragon blinked open her eyes. The places she remembered getting hurt in were hurting a little, but not too much. She stood and stretched out her legs, wincing slightly.

"Ah, you're awake. How do you feel?" the dragon looked at Beast.

"Considerably better than I did when I fought that thing. How long was I out?"

"About a week now."

"Oh. Well, that doesn't surprise me." The dragon started to unfurl her wings to stretch _them_, but they were only partially opened when she pulled them back with a yelp.

"I wouldn't do that." Said Beast. "Your wings will take about another week to heal."

"Right." The dragon muttered. She shifted. "Another week. I'll keep that in mind."

A car pulled into the parking garage. Inside it, Kitty kept an eye on Kurt. He had gone to school with them, for the first time since the… 'incident' in the woods. He had done okay, but now he looked exhausted again. Once the car was parked, Kurt 'ported away. Knowing he'd gone there, Kitty headed to his room.

He was there, alright, lying on his bed. His eyes were shut, but they flew open when numerous people thundered down the hall, yelling. Kurt sighed and sat up. Kitty went up to him, smiling, and took his hand.

"Follow me." She said.

The area where Avalanche had attacked them ages and yet not so long ago was quiet now, turned into a small clearing by his powers.

"Now that Dragon ran Lance off, no one should bother us here. It's quiet. You can rest." Kitty pulled Kurt down so they were both more or less sitting on the ground. Kurt shook his head.

"Vhy do you keep trying to look after me? Vhy do zhis for me?"

Kitty giggled. "I told you that already, Kurt." Kurt was crouching; Kitty stood on her knees to reach his level. Putting both hands on Kurt's face, she drew close. "Because. I love you." She whispered.

Kurt was still for a moment, suddenly almost hearing the dragon whisper, 'You already know her… try looking closer to home.'

Kurt closed the distance between them. This time, their kiss was not interrupted by Kurt's fangs.

**A/N there, there's that one. That was actually a little awkward to write to, for some reason. Well, anyway, I'll try to update soon. Oh, and by the way, I was told that the other genre this should be was hurt/comfort, so that is what I will label it as. If you disagree, tell me what you think it should be, and if a few tell me otherwise then I will change it to satisfy majority. So, leave me a review.**


	21. Heart and Home

X-Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N okay, here's the next one. A little later than I said, I think, but I have a legitimate reason: I was helping my sister move. Anyway, I have an**

**IMPORTANT**

**Note at the end of the chapter I would like you to read, when you're finished, of course. I made that big so you'd notice.**

**By the way, in my story, Evan is still with the Morlocks. I have no idea whether or not Evan came back in season four, not having seen it, but either way, he is still with the Morlocks in my story. At least at the beginning of this chapter. Well, I'll get on with it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evo.**

21. Heart and Home

The bell rang, signaling the end of the day. Outside the school, the mutant students gathered in a group around the notice boards, the ones arranged in a triangle. Once they had gathered together, they started moving toward the parking lot (among the hostile stares, there was more safety in numbers). Before they got anywhere, though, a familiar voice said,

"Hey!" They all looked up.

"Dragon, what are you doing here?" asked Amara. Perched precariously on top of the notice boards, the dragon grinned.

"I wanted to see what a school looked like. Are there always so many people?"

"How did you get here? And up there? I thought Beast said your wings would take longer to heal?" Rahne phrased it like a question.

"He did. I walked here, then climbed up here. Are there always so many people?" the dragon wanted to know. Kitty opened her mouth to answer, but other voices suddenly interrupted.

"What _is _that?"

"Is that a dragon?"

"Oh my God!"

"These mutants keep getting freakier!"

"Get that thing out of here!"

"A dragon!"

"What the hell is _that _doing here?"

"I've had enough of these freaky- looking mutants! I'm getting Principal Kelly!"

The dragon, frightened and panicking, backed up a few paces. Kurt quickly 'ported and caught her when she fell off the other side. 'Porting back, he looked at the others.

"Time to go."

The mutant students milled around on the lawn outside the Xavier institute. The usual games were being played, but there was less concentration on them. No one really knew what to make of all that had happened. When they had reached the car, Kurt had dumped the dragon into Kitty's arms so he could drive. There the dragon had curled up and done her best to hide. When they were a good distance from the school, the dragon had tugged on Kitty's shirt and asked once more:

"Are there always so many people?" When Kitty had nodded, the dragon had shuddered and hidden her face once more, sliding her head underneath the hem of Kitty's shirt. When they had gotten to the institute, Rogue had gone to talk to the Professor. The dragon had locked herself in her room, and hadn't been seen since. People didn't even notice when a familiar red car drove into the institute, until three familiar people got out and the car door slammed. Actually, only one person noticed even then.

"Jean! Scott! You're back from your trip!" said Rahne. "And… Evan?"

"Yo." Evan, the mutant known as Spyke, nodded. "Felt like visiting, and on my way here I ran into these two." He gestured toward Scott and Jean.

"on our way back to here from our trip, we offered him a ride." Jean smiled. "So, what's happened while we were away?" she asked.

Rahne suddenly appeared uncomfortable. "Uhh… stuff. I… oh, I just remembered, I need to go scare Jamie for a prank he played on me." Rahne ran off. Other students finally began to notice the three of them. It was great to talk to everyone again, but it was painfully obvious to the three that had just arrived that everyone they spoke to became awkward when asked what had been happening lately.

Then another, unfamiliar car drove through the gate. The person inside, however, was very familiar: Principal Kelly. Most students started muttering; more than one said, "Oh no."

"Take me to see Professor Xavier." Principal Kelly demanded.

Jean shot a look at both Evan and Scott, then said, "We'll take you. The three of us were going to see him anyway. Come with us."

In Professor Xavier's office, Jean, Scott and Evan stood to the side while Principal Kelly stood directly in front of Xavier's desk.

"Professor, I want to speak to you and I want to speak to the creature that appeared in the schoolyard. I don't care who else listens, but I want to speak about what happened this afternoon with you and the guilty party!"

"Principal Kelly, the poor girl you're shouting about is guilty of nothing more than curiousity. However," Xavier said, holdin up a hand to stall further outbursts, "I will call her."

Over by the wall, Scott, Jean, and Evan looked at each other in confusion. They'd thought of Kurt at first, but Professor Xavier had just mentioned a girl. Who?

The dragon sat in her room, just simply looking at the things in it. Earlier, when she'd looked out the window, she'd seen a wolf- form Rahne chasing about a half- dozen Jamies across the yard. She couldn't help but wonder if she'd missed something.

'Not my business.' The dragon told herself. 'I shouldn't get any more involved here. I shouldn't have gotten involved here at all. I should have kept to myself, completed my mission, and left when I was done. I should-.'

'Dragon.' Another mental voice interrupted her thoughts. 'Could you come to my office, please?'

'On my way.' The dragon thought. Once the connection ended, the dragon sighed and hopped off her bed. 'Here we go.' She thought glumly.

The dragon opened the door with difficulty- she had to try twice- and went inside. "You wanted…" the dragon broke off when she saw more people than she expected, and four out of five of them were strangers. The dragon gulped. "… to see me?" she finished much more quietly. Professor X smiled.

"Yes. Come over here, on the desk so we can all see you."

Trying to stay low, the dragon crept over to the desk. Doing her best not to scratch the wood, the dragon unsheathed her claws and clambered to the top of the desk. Shifting into an empty spot on it, she crouched low and shot nervous glances at those she didn't know, barely noting that the redhead girl and boy with red glasses were another pattern match.

"This… is what the students said came?" the dragon looked at the speaker, a brown- haired adult, and nodded. "You… aren't what I expected. Nevertheless, I can't have disruptions at my school!"

"I came after all the classes were done." The dragon objected.

"Do you think that matters? The students just got over the idea of that blue- furred freak-" here all the mutants in the room stiffened- "attending classes with them, then you come up? Many students are not happy with the thought that some mutants can look like mythical monsters, with God only knowing how big they'll- you'll- get. What possessed you to come? Is there something you would like to say?"

The dragon straightened up, her mind becoming clouded with anger. "I guess I can assume you are principal Kelly." The dragon said coldly. "And there are several things I would like to say. First, to get the most unimportant point out of the way, I've been this size since I was four. I have not grown an inch and I probably never will. Second I do not like the way you are speaking to me. Do you have a mother?" The question took everyone by surprise.

"I… what… yes, of course I have a mother!" Principal Kelly sputtered.

"If she died in front of you, you would be upset, I assume?"

"Considerably." Principal Kelly gave that dragon a skeptical look, with something in his eyes clearly saying he thought she'd lost her mind. The dragon nodded.

"Then try to imagine it…all hope leaving you as you stand by, helpless… I was four when I watched my mother bleed to death in a dark street. I still see it, all the time…"

Everyone in the room looked at the dragon in shock. She gave a funny smirk.

"When I first mutated, my father walked out of the family and never came back. Two months later, Mama was killed. Knifed by some gang kids in a dark alley for her cheap jewelry. Earlier I couldn't remember why we were there, but… I think… I think we were there because she had to work really late. She was just trying to pay our bills and keep us fed, and she was killed for it. Does that sound like a good reason to you? Does that sound fair? With the way I look, I had to run, after I watched Mama bleed to death. I still have nightmares about it. It happened years ago, but at times I still cry myself to sleep at night. Does that seem right to you? My mom never hurt anyone, she was just trying to look after me, but in the end it didn't matter, did it? Does that seem right? Does that seem fair? I was four. Yet my mom was killed, murdered, and I had to move away from society, live by myself, and raise myself from that young, because of my mutation. Because I bear the title of 'Mutant. ' Please, answer something for me; isn't the most proven idea of how we exist a process called 'evolution?'"

In answer to the dragon's question, Principal Kelly nodded mutely.

"If that is so," the dragon continued, "Then hundreds, perhaps thousands or even millions of billions of years ago, our very distant ancestors were single celled blobs. Evolution would not have happened if those blobs hadn't mutated; therefore, no matter how we look, whether we have powers or not, we are all mutants. So why do only some of us bear the burden of that title?" the dragon pointed out. She shifted into a sitting position and looked straight at the dumbstruck Kelly. "I will say only one more thing. My parents are gone, left or dead. I fended for myself since I was four, digging dens to sleep in and hunting mice to eat. What I want… all I want… is to be considered normal, and have a normal life. My deepest desire is a home, and a family, and food I didn't have to catch and kill first. That was all taken away from me when I was four. So tell me, please: what more do you want from me? Pass your judgement; what do you want me to give… that I haven't already lost?"

The room was quiet once the dragon finished speaking. The dragon swallowed; her mouth was suddenly dry and her legs suddenly shaking. She felt suddenly that the silence was louder than she ever thought it could be. It seemed to echo in her ears as they all waited, but she refused to let her gaze leave the subject of her sudden flare of anger, waiting for Principal Kelly to speak.

At last he said, "I need some time to think about what was said here. Please excuse me, and I will… 'pass judgment,' as you said… when I know what to say. You have given me a lot to consider." The dragon nodded, and Principal Kelly left. When the door was shut, all four remaining looked at the dragon as she allowed her legs to collapse and lie on her stomach. The dark-skinned boy let out a low whistle.

"That kind of history'd make anyone think twice. That… happened… to you?"

The dragon was silent for a moment, eyes narrowed in the pain of her past. Then she said, "A long time ago." She raised her right paw up to her face and stared at it. It was clear to her that Principal Kelly had looked her way and seen some kind of monster. But… that wasn't who she was… right?

The dragon looked up from her paw and looked at Xavier. "What do you see?" she asked in a near- whisper.

He smiled. "I see a young girl who has been very badly treated, and is desperately trying to find the place in world where she belongs… which she believes she does not have."

The dragon looked back down at her paw. He was right. She'd never belonged anywhere. She set her paw down and looked back up.

"Professor," she said quietly, "Beast said my wings will be fully healed in a week. Once they have, I'll leave. You don't need to deal with this on my account. Once I can fly, I promise I'll get out of your ha… uh, um, out of your way.

Professor X was startled- he didn't expect the conversation to leap from there to here. Besides… that wasn't what he meant at all. First things first- with Principal Kelly, she had gotten the unimportant things out of the way first. He would do the same. He smiled. "First of all, dear Dragon, you don't have to let the fact that I have no hair for you to get out of affect what you say. You can use any phrase you'd like. Secondly, there is no need for you to go anywhere. I do not think there will be trouble with him. You first impression of him from hearing him over the phone was correct. I do not like forcing my powers on people, and without them, his is a hard head to get through. However, I think you did. I do not think he will cause any more problems over this.

"Even if you're right, that isn't the only thing I'm thinking of." The dragon said with a sigh. "Back when I was flying _here,_ I ran into Magneto. I told him I wasn't interested in his group, but I don't think he'll just give up. He'll be back, and I shouldn't force everyone here to get caught in the middle."

"You don't have to worry about that, Dragon." The Professor told her, his smile widening. "wherever and whenever Magneto causes trouble, we go to stop him. We don't get caught in the middle as much as we jump in the middle. And if you left, where would you go? Back up north?" he inquired. The dragon looked down at the desk. "You might think you belong nowhere, but I know better. It's far better for you here." The dragon looked up quickly at that, looking at him in shock. His eyes held a warmth that she could never remember seeing before.

"Dragon," he said, "I have an offer for you."

**A/N chapter 21! One chapter left. I can't believe it myself… this story's kind of become a part of me… well, it's not necessarily over. That depends on you. Yes, this is my **

**IMPORTANT**

**Notice… yes, big again to catch your attention. I want **_**you **_**to tell**_** me**_**… do you want this to be over with the next chapter? I have not just a sequel planned, but a sequel for that sequel- a trilogy, kind of. (I have started writing the sequel by the way, as I like to write out the entire story on paper before I post it, but don't let that influence your opinion.) If you want me to stop writing this particular story, tell me that, and if you want me to post the sequels, tell me. I left some things open for the sequel, but not important things (hence the mention on chapter…. 16, I believe… ), so I can drop it if you want, or I will be happy to keep posting.**

**So, basically, my question is: do you want me to keep writing this series, or do you want me to stop after Destiny Magics?**

**Tell me via review or PM and, when I post the final chapter, I will put an Author's Note at the bottom telling you of what the final answer is going to be. Whichever outcome you want, let me know. And also, tell me… how has my first Fan Fic. been, now that it's almost over? I'll be waiting for your answers. Thank you.**

**- Dragonstars.**


	22. I'm Home

X-Men Evolution

Destiny Magics

**A/N wow. This is it, the final chapter of Destiny Magics. I hope it reaches your expectations. Thanks for staying with me.**

**For those of you waiting to know whether or not I'm writing the sequel, the answer's at the bottom. You can either read the chapter, then find out, or, if you're impatient, you can scroll to the bottom right now.**

**Hey, I looked at the number of characters left for the summary... there's more now. I don't know why or how, but it looks like I'll be able to fit the whole summary in it now. Is there a reason there's more room now? Does anyone know? I'm not complaining, just curious.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own X-men: Evo.**

22. I'm Home

The dragon walked slowly down the hall, bound for the living room. Passing a window, she noticed it was raining lightly. Entering the living room, she saw only Kurt, Kitty, and Rahne there.

"So what went on up there? Even after the principal left, you were up there an hour." Rahne asked.

"A lot went on, before and after he left. Jean offered to teach me to read. And the Professor made an offer, too. I said I wanted to think about it. He… oh, look!" The dragon bolted over to the window. The others turned. The dragon reared and put her front paws on the window pane. "There's a rainbow outside." She breathed. There was, a beautiful, clear one.

"Haven't you ever seen a rainbow before?" Kitty asked. The dragon shook her head.

"The lower part of Canada might have four seasons, just like here, but as far north as I was, it seemed to have just two: very cold, and mildly cold. It can be pretty dry there, too. It didn't rain very often. I… oh…" the dragon trailed off as the rainbow faded. She dropped back down on all fours.

"Hey," Kitty said. The dragon turned. "I just remembered… you said before that you had a question about something Bobby said just before we went into the forest to save Kurt. What was it?"

"Oh, that." The dragon cocked her head to one side. "What's ice cream?"

Kurt, Kitty, and Rahne stared. The dragon shrank back and was quietly grateful that they were the only ones in the room.

"You don't know?" Kurt asked incredulously. He surprised the dragon by scooping her up with one arm. "Vell, zhen ve must show you, immediately!"

The dragon paced up and down the hallway, thinking. Just when the four had finished the ice cream, they had to go join the others for dinner. That suited Kurt just fine, and the rest of them had had small bowls. During dinner, the Professor had announced that Evan was once again going to stay permanently at the institute, causing loud applause from those who knew them. The dragon, not knowing him, stayed silent. Now that dinner was finished, she had a decision of her own to make. She thought of Kurt and Kitty. Flinching, she thought of the incident at the school. She thought of Rahne. She thought of Wolverine's temper toward her. She sighed. Then she headed towards Xavier's office to tell him her decision.

A few days later, she went looking for her three friends. She hadn't told anyone but the Professor her decision yet; she was waiting for her pouch to come back. She'd also asked Professor Xavier not to mention it until she could show it to them. She had just gotten it. The dragon looked to the light patterns. Rahne was outside, playing Frisbee, they said. Kitty was in her room doing homework. Kurt was in his room, on his balcony, staring at the sky. 'probably at the sunset.' The dragon thought. She clambered out an open window and flew into the fading daylight, heading for Kurt's room. She found him perched on his balcony's railing. He barely moved when she landed. Perching next to him, she asked,

"What's up?"

Kurt shook his head. "Everyzhing I did. Do I really deserve a second chance? I killed somevon."

"Oh, Kurt." The dragon sighed. "I thought you were getting over that. What prompted this?" the dragon paused, but when she got no reply she continued. "I killed someone to. Back in that forest, I killed Tristan, or… whatever it was that he'd become. If I hadn't, he'd have tried to kill again, and probably succeeded, just as Stephan would have. Don't think of it as ending a life, think of it as saving countless more. You haven't blown your first chance yet." Kurt looked at the dragon, who was smiling. "But, hey, if you feel like you need a fresh start, well… there is a lot of that going around these days." The dragon lifted a forepaw and held out her small black pouch, as far out as she could with the chain still around her neck. The dragon's small pouch was no longer hard to see against her scales when she wore it, due to a bright red X stitched onto the fabric. Kurt laughed and picked her up.

"Velcome to zhe family, Dragon."

Later, the dragon entered the room that belonged to her. Jumping onto the bed that belonged to her, she gripped the pillow in her teeth and dragged it to the middle of the bed. Crawling onto it, she thought: 'Yes. Finally… at last… I'm home.'

**A/N wow. Well. Complete. It's become so much a part of me. But, well… the story isn't really over yet. Yes, the results are in. it may not come right away, for a few reasons, but the sequel is on the way.**

**I'm working through it, writing it out on paper first (which is one reason it will take some time to be posted- I write the whole story out on paper before I post even the first chapter, in case I need to make some changes), and I'll start posting it as soon as I can. I should mention though, in two days, I'm going to my first year of college (shudder) and I don't know how busy I'm going to be. I'll do my best for you, though. So, it may be later rather than sooner, but it will come; keep watching for the sequel: Blood Magics.**

**Reviews are still welcomed. I'm sorry I'm not one of those people who respond to every review, but it does make me happy when you do so.**

**A special thanks to everyone who has ever read, reviewed, favourited, or followed this story. I'm grateful for your support, and I hope I met your expectations. Thank you.**


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